Blood and Tears
by shred01
Summary: A BuffyAngel crossover. Set in season 6 of Buffy and Season 3 of Angel between the Smashed and As You Were timeline. Read and Review! Enjoy!


**Blood and Tears**

BUFFY: What part of no don't you understand?

She ducked another punch thrown at her face and gave her opponent another one of her own. Her punch connected with her target and sent it flying backwards. The big, scaly demon fell on a tombstone and the stone crumbled beneath the demon's massive weight.

BUFFY: Just for the record, no is the opposite of yes, which means no!

She pulled out a stake from her back pocket and towered over the creature. Buffy shuddered involuntarily at the ugly sight before her. She never knew a demon could be this ugly. At least she got a chance to kill – one less ugly demon in this world. She raised the stake over her head and prepared herself to plunge it into the demon's heart.

The demon – a Gyehu demon by looks of it – growled loudly before opening its maw and spewing a blue rock at Buffy. The rock hit Buffy squarely at her chest, causing her to stumble backwards. Buffy was sure the impact caused one of her ribs to crack. The Gyehu took this moment to get on its feet and rushed her. Buffy waited till the demon was also almost on top of her before grabbing the two spikes prodding from its chest and flipping it over her head as she fell back to the ground. The Gyehu fell to the ground with a loud thump, rattling the ground beneath it, and Buffy got to her feet quickly before it could take time to recover.

BUFFY: No means no. How many times must I say it?

She plunge the stake she had with her hard into the ugly creature's heart and took a step back. The creature squealed in response and its body shook violently. A moment later, it fell dead. Buffy grinned at the dead monster before her and replaced the stake back in her back pocket. She dusted off her hands and glared at the person she was talking to.

Spike came out of the shadows with a smirk on his handsome face. He took one last drag from his cigarette before grounding it out with his boot.

SPIKE: Until it starts to sound convincing.

Buffy threw her hands up in the air in defeat.

BUFFY: I don't know why I even try!

Buffy whirled around in exasperation and stalked out of the cemetery. Spike didn't fail to follow.

SPIKE: Aw, come one, Slayer. You know you want to.

BUFFY: No, I don't want to.

Spike jumped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. He gave her his trademark grin.

SPIKE: I'll be quick. I promise.

Buffy ran her hand through her blond hair in frustration. _Won't he ever give up?_ She studied him for a moment and knew he wouldn't. It wasn't a Spike thing to do anyway.

BUFFY: Alright, fine. But make it quick. I don't have all night.

Spike's eyes lit up like a little boy in a toy store and Buffy almost burst out laughing.

SPIKE: Don't worry, pet. You know I'm better when I'm quick.

Buffy cracked a grin at that. Oh, she knew alright. She knew all to well. She cleared her throat, hoping he didn't notice her moment of weakness.

BUFFY: Well?

Spike pulled out a piece of paper from the pocket of his black leather jacket and unfolded it. He cleared his throat, took a peek at Buffy and started reading. His voice was soft and low. The husky tone of his voice reminded Buffy of the many times when Spike whispered naughty things in her ear whenever they were together.

SPIKE: My soul is wrapped is harsh repose. Midnight descends like raven colored clothes. But soft behold! A sunlight gleam, cutting a swath of glimmering gleam. My heart expands, 'tis grown a bulge in it. Inspired by your beauty...effulgent.

Spike looked up at Buffy, waiting for her response. She stared back at him blankly.

SPIKE: So what did you think?

Buffy racked her brain for something intelligent to say but came up with nothing.

BUFFY: I...I don't know what to say.

Spike smiled sheepishly and stuffed his poem back into his pocket.

SPIKE: It sucks, I know.

BUFFY: (snorts) Damn right, it did!

SPIKE: What?

Buffy cocked her head at the vampire before her.

BUFFY: Is effulgent even a word?

SPIKE: (stammers) Well...yeah, it means...

BUFFY: (interrupts him) Look, I should be going. Dawn's alone at home.

She brushed past him without another word but not before catching a disappointed look on his face. She almost turned around to apologized but her mind screamed at her to continue walking. Her mind knew that if she turned back, she would regret what would happen next. So, she kept on walking without a backward glance.

**THE NEXT MORNING**

**the summers' household**

Buffy trudged towards the kitchen feeling unusually tired. She chest still ached from the hit she got from the blue rock, her feet felt like lead and her eyes were still yearning for sleep. Voices streamed out from the kitchen, alerting Buffy of the company she didn't know she had. She entered the kitchen and was greeted by her sister, Willow, Xander and Anya.

XANDER: Morning, Buff. (notices her appearance) You look extra chirpy today.

BUFFY: Oh yeah, real chirpy.

She grabbed the coffee pot on the kitchen counter and poured herself a cup. She took a sip and grimace.

BUFFY: Dawn, how many times do I have to tell you to stop making coffee?

DAWN: (defensively) I didn't make coffee today.

WILLOW: I did.

BUFFY: Oh.

She stared into the cup and forced a smile on her face.

BUFFY: It's really good.

Willow plucked the cup from her hands and dumped the contents into the sink.

XANDER: So rough patrol last night?

Buffy gingerly sat at the dining table and nodded.

BUFFY: Ran into a Gyehu and you know how they are with spewing those blue rocks.

DAWN: Yeah, I never got that.

BUFFY: Well, one of them hit me right in the chest and it's been a bit sore ever since.

Willow glanced worriedly at Buffy.

WILLOW: Are you sure you are ok? Did you crack any ribs?

BUFFY: No. (pause) Well, I don't think so.

DAWN: Well, we are checking to make sure. Lift up your shirt and I'll get some bandages. Xander? The other way please.

He turned away from Buffy without being told twice while Buffy unbuttoned her shirt. Willow came up to her and inspected her chest. Her brow scrunched up in concern. She touched a tender area and Buffy flinched visibly.

WILLOW: I think you broke a rib.

BUFFY: How can you tell?

WILLOW: (smirks) Well, the bruising gave me a hint and the fact you flinched in pain when I touched the raw spot confirmed it. I can't be really sure how bad the damage is but I think you should go to the hospital to have it checked out.

BUFFY: (sighs) Fine. I'll head down there after breakfast.

XANDER: (still facing the other way) I'll drive you.

Dawn comes up to her and handed Willow some bandages. A few minutes later, Buffy's lower chest was tightly bound with bandages.

DAWN: Try not to move so much. And try not to fight –

The back door burst open, cutting Dawn off in mid sentence. A huddled figure came rushing into in the kitchen with a thick, dark, woolen blanket over itself. The figure slammed the door shut and shrugged the blanket off. The blanket dropped to the ground, revealing a smoky looking Spike.

SPIKE: Hello, folks. I see you are up early.

Buffy tightened her blouse around herself as Spike's graze landed on her. Xander stalked up to Spike with a scowl on his face.

XANDER: What are you doing here Spike?

SPIKE: I thought I come by to say good morning to all of you.

Xander took Spike by the shoulders and led him towards the door.

XANDER: Ok, you had your time. Now go.

Spike wriggled out of Xander's grasp before the human could open the door and let the sunlight to spill into the house.

SPIKE: I'm not leaving till I have a word with our, Slayer. (glares at xander) In private.

Spike caught her graze and nodded towards the empty hallway. Buffy sighed and got up slowly from her seat.

BUFFY: I won't take long.

She followed the vampire into the hallway, leaving the rest in the kitchen confused. Buffy faced Spike and crossed her arms across her chest but later changed her mind when that movement shot pain through her chest.

SPIKE: You're hurt.

BUFFY: I'll be fine. So what is it that you want to talk to me about that can't wait until later?

SPIKE: It can't wait until later 'cause it would be too late by then. It's something I thought a slayer like you would like to know. (pause) There's going to be a 'later' in your schedule?

BUFFY: You know what I mean.

A knowing grin spread across his handsome features as he took a step towards her.

SPIKE: (takes a step closer towards her) No, I don't know what you mean. Care to tell me?

BUFFY: Spike, not now. (shakes her head) Not here.

SPIKE: Should we go upstairs then? (grins) I promise I'll be quiet.

BUFFY: Spike...

A movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention and Buffy stepped away from Spike.

XANDER: Hey. Everything alright?

BUFFY: (smiles forcefully) Yeah. Everything's fine.

SPIKE: I was just telling Buffy about the bunch of Gyehu demons I ran into after our patrol last night.

BUFFY: (to spike) You did?

SPIKE: (nods) I followed them and they led me to a nest of Gyehu demons down in the sewers. There are about 10 of those fellows. I couldn't take them out so I thought I drop by and get you so we can take them by surprise.

XANDER: You want us to go with?

SPIKE: (laughs) Sure. If you want your butts to be kicked.

Xander shot Spike a dirty look.

XANDER: I'll have you know, I can hold my ground as well as the next guy, thank you very much.

SPIKE: (snorts) I'm sure you can.

BUFFY: (to xander) You don't have to tag along. We'll manage. (to spike) One more word out of you that I don't approve of and I'll rip your throat out.

Buffy brushed past the vampire and headed upstairs.

BUFFY: Wait here while I'll go get my weapons.

XANDER: Buffy, you're hurt. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out fighting. Why don't you let Spike take care of this?

Buffy stopped her climb up the stairs and shot Xander a reassuring smile.

BUFFY: Don't worry. I'll be fine. Take Dawn to school for me will you?

XANDER: Sure.

Buffy turned on her heels and continued her climb up to her room. Once there, she grabbed a couple of stakes and a mean looking sword from her chest of weapons at the foot of her bed. She pocketed the stakes and slung the sword across her back. All these movements shot pain through her chest and throughout her whole body. _Hang in there, body. Don't disappoint me now._

SPIKE: Buffy!

BUFFY: I'm coming! (quietly) Jeez, that man has no patience.

Buffy doubled over as a coughing fit took over her. The coughs racked through her body, causing more pain to course through it. A second later, she was able to get the coughs under control but she knew something was wrong as soon as soon as the coughs were gone. An all too familiar coppery taste coated the insides of her mouth and she knew at once she just coughed out blood.

Buffy grabbed a towel from her closet and touched it to her mouth. She pulled the white cloth away to find a bright red spot staining it.

BUFFY: Damn it.

She threw the soiled towel on her bed and slowly walked out of her room – all the while hoping that she would be able to survive the day.

**SEWERS**

**an hour later**

Buffy and Spike had been walking for the past hour in the stinky sewers and the big, scaly, blue-rock spewing demon's nest was nowhere to be found. Buffy was getting frustrated. She should be home right now taking a hot bath and relaxing in the Magic Box till night came. But no. She was, instead, roaming in Sunnydale's finest sewers looking for a nonexistent demon's nest.

A dead end loomed ahead, causing the two of them to come to a stop. Buffy looked around in the wide open area they were in. Puzzled expressions were on both their faces.

BUFFY: You know, I'm starting to think that this is all part of your master plan to get me in your crypt.

SPIKE: You would like that wouldn't you? Believe me, Slayer, I saw the nest with my own eyes. It must be somewhere around here.

BUFFY: Well, I don't see it. You sure it was here?

SPIKE: Yes I'm sure. They must have cleared out.

BUFFY: Cleared out? Spike, we are talking about demons that have brains of the size of peanuts here. I don't think they are smart enough to skedaddle.

SPIKE: Have you actually seen their brains?

BUFFY: (stammers) Well...I haven't. But...but I know that they are dumb. All demons are.

SPIKE: So you are saying I'm dumb.

BUFFY: Yes. If you weren't, you...you wouldn't have brought me here.

Spike let out a laugh but didn't reply. He pulled out a packet of cigarettes, popped one stick out and lit it. He puffed out a cloud of smoke right into Buffy's face. Afraid to cough out more blood, she bit back her lip and turned away from him.

SPIKE: There's nothing here. Let's go.

BUFFY: Wait.

Spike turned towards her, an eyebrow raised.

SPIKE: What?

BUFFY: Did you hear that?

SPIKE: Here what?

Buffy strained her ears, hoping to hear that sound she heard before. _There it is again! It's like some kind of scraping noise. _She cautiously went towards the wall before her, her five senses on high alert.

SPIKE: What do you hear, pet?

Buffy raised her hand, silencing him. She gestured for him to follow and he did. Buffy inspected the wall in front of her. The brick wall was slightly higher than her, covered with grim and dull green moss. There were a few cracks running along the wall and water leaked out from some of it. The scraping noise came again.

BUFFY: (whispers) I think there's something behind this wall. Is there a way to get to the other side?

SPIKE: Not that I know of. We could break it down.

BUFFY: No. It would scare whatever it is on the other side. There must be another way in there.

SPIKE: Why don't you ask? It's always polite to ask.

He stalked towards the wall and thumped his fist against it.

SPIKE: Hey! You mind telling us how you got there, mate?

Buffy grabbed the vampire by the collar of his jacket and pulled him away.

SPIKE: Hey! Watch the jacket!

BUFFY: What the hell do you think you are doing?

SPIKE: I was being polite.

BUFFY: Damn it, Spike! Now they would know that we are here.

Spike took another drag from his cigarette and look amusingly at her.

SPIKE: Calm down, luv. There's no one there. It's just rats.

As if on cue, something burst through the wall before them. The impact threw the vampire and the slayer backwards. The two of them dropped to the damp ground hard. The fall caused Buffy's bones to rattle in her body._ I'm going to bust another rib if I get thrown around like this._

Buffy scrambled to her feet and faced the thing – _or things –_ that burst through the grimy wall. Four Gyehus stood before them, snarling and looking ready to tear their heads off. Buffy dropped into a fighting stance while Spike causally threw his half-smoked cigarette and ground it out with his boot.

BUFFY: Just rats, huh?

Spike just shrugged and drop into a fighting stance. Buffy faced her opponents and mentally mapped out her fighting plan. _Grab the first one, kill it. Grab the second one, kill it. Easy. _Before she could execute her first deathblow, the four Gyehu attacked them at once – two came after her while the other two went after Spike.

Buffy ducked the first demon's attack. Its huge massive fist came fast towards her head and Buffy managed to avoid it in time. Buffy stayed squatted on the ground and swept her legs at the Gyehu's, taking its legs out from underneath it. The colossal demon fell back to the ground, squealing all its way down.

Buffy abandoned her attack on the first demon and faced the second one, which was running towards her at a surprising fast speed. She gave the oncoming demon a roundhouse kick to its face, causing it to stumble back. But it still came towards her for more. The Gyehu swung a fist at Buffy's face but she managed to block it by grabbing its fist before it could reach its target. She then gave two sharp kicks to its abdomen. She let go of its hand and let it double over in pain. She kneed it in the face, hard enough to break the bones there. The Gyehu let out a high pitch squealed in response, nearly tearing Buffy's eardrums. She didn't take a moment to sympathize with it but instead she aimed another roundhouse kick at its face. The demon's face snapped back, dislocating itself from the lower part of the body. The Gyehu fell dead.

All this while, her chest burned with fiery pain.

Buffy glanced over her shoulder and spotted the first Gyehu demon climbing to its feet. Buffy launched a series of attacks on it before it had time to get its bearings.

BUFFY: Spike?

SPIKE: (grunts) I'm fine.

The sound of bone breaking followed by a loud squeal reached her ears, confirming his statement. Knowing that Spike was handling his demon just fine, she returned her attention to her ugly creature. She blinked when the demon stood a few feet away from her and stared.

BUFFY: Come on, ugly. Let's finish this. I don't have all day.

A low growl spilled out from the Gyehu's black lips before opening its mouth to spit out a blue rock the size of her head. Buffy dodged the rock and ran headlong towards the rock-spitting demon. She slammed into the demons chest, making sure she missed the two prodding spikes and the two tumbled to the damp ground with Buffy straddling the Gyehu. She pulled out her sword from its leather sheathe and sank it into the creature's throat. The creature gurgled before going still.

BUFFY: _Now_ try spitting that rock at me.

Buffy kept her sword back in its holding place and slowly got to her feet, wincing at how tender her chest felt. She surveyed the area. Two of the demons she fought with lay in one corner while one of the demons that went after Spike lay in the other corner. The second demon and Spike was nowhere to be seen.

BUFFY: Spike?

Silence.

Buffy started to panic. _I so hope he's not dust._

BUFFY: Spike! Where the hell are you?

The sound of footsteps was heard, alerting Buffy of someone approaching her from behind. She whirled around and spotted three silhouettes striding towards her from behind the hole in the wall. Another set of sewers snaked their way on the other side of the broken wall and Buffy couldn't see after a few meters due to the dim lighting. For all she knew, hundreds of demons could be following the three silhouettes. Buffy unsheathed her sword.

BUFFY: Spike?

SILHOUETTE: Don't worry, Buff. Spike's safe. He's just...busy right now.

Buffy gripped her sword tighter.

BUFFY: And you are...?

The three stepped over the rumble and stood in the shadows, away from the single bulb of light hanging from the ceiling of the sewers, which was the sewers only source of light. Buffy squinted and she managed to make out two Gyehu demons and a human – a male judging from the sound of his voice. He was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. The hood cast more shadows, masking his face from Buffy. The Gyehus stood menacingly at his flanks.

MAN: Who I am isn't important. What I want is. Don't you think so?

BUFFY: Cut the small talk and get on with it. I know what you want. Get me dead, get world domination. Yeah, I know what you want. I've seen people like you before. Killed them too.

The man laughed and Buffy raised her sword a little higher to let him know she means business. But no matter how brave her she might look, she couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. Though she knew she could take out the two demons without any problem, it was the man that she was more worried about. There was something about him that was very familiar to her. The way he move and the way he talk was all too familiar – it was as if she had met him before though she didn't where or when.

And not to mention the amount of power she could feel coming from him. The dark power came out from him in waves and she felt it as soon as he came near. A chill ran down Buffy's spine.

MAN: Grab her.

The Gyehus didn't disobey. They lumbered towards her, growling and gnashing their small, razor sharp teeth. Buffy swung her sword at the advancing demons but the sharp blade only caught one of the demons on its shoulder. The slash made the demon angrier and in its defense, it coughed up a blue rock. Buffy rolled away to avoid getting hit by the rock and quickly got to her feet as soon as she was sure she was in the clear.

A roar rumbled in the sewers from behind. Buffy glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of two more Gyehus behind. _This is not good, _she thought as she ducked another two projectiles. _This is not good at all. _

Two more blue rocks, including one of the demons, flew towards her. Buffy managed to avoid one of the rocks but the remaining one clipped her right knee as she moved away. A searing pain shot up her leg and she lurched to the ground. The Gyehu struck her across the face and she hit the opposite wall upon impact. Buffy couldn't help but cried out in pain as the impact aggravated her injury even more. Two Gyehus trudged towards her, grabbed her arms with their massive ones and pulled her roughly to her feet. She struggled against their grip but to no avail. The pain in her chest and knee weakened her struggles.

Their leader sauntered towards her – no doubt with a grin splitting his face. He slipped his hand into one of the pockets of his sweatshirt and drew out a sleek, sliver case.

MAN: I got something for you.

BUFFY: I don't want anything from you, you jerk!

MAN: You sure? Cause, if I remember correctly, you always enjoy receiving gifts. Or have you changed now?

BUFFY: (seethes) You don't even know me.

MAN: You think?

He flipped open the case and took the content out. The dim light reflected of the object and Buffy immediately froze. The syringe contained a gold liquid that shone dully against the sewers limited lighting. He flicked against the syringe with his index finger and took a step towards her.

BUFFY: You stick that think in me and I'll make sure your death is a slow and painful one.

MAN: I like to see you try.

Buffy used the demon's grip as her aid and lifted her legs up to kick the syringe out of his hand but he was too quick. He sprang back in surprise.

MAN: You bitch!

With one fluid movement, he covered the gap between them in one stride and struck her hard across her face. The demons let her go and she fell to her knees. A sharp pain shot up her right leg. The man gave a sharp kick to her side and Buffy cried out in pain as his foot connected with her injured rib. She collapsed onto her back, cradling her chest.

He squatted next to her, grabbed a fistful of her blond hair and pulled her face up to his. Even this close, she still couldn't tell who he was. He brought the syringe up to her face.

MAN: (snarls) No matter what, this is still getting in you.

He sank the needle into the side of her throat and injected the gold liquid. Her screams rang through the sewers as her opponent laughed.

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

Spike burst through the front doors of Buffy's house and ran into the kitchen, dropping his blanket on the way. Willow and Xander stared up at him in surprise.

SPIKE: Where is she?

XANDER: Who?

WILLOW: What's wrong?

Panic welled up in him as Willow and Xander continued to look at him in surprise.

XANDER: Spike, what the hell is going on? And where's Buffy? I thought she was with you.

SPIKE: She's not here?

WILLOW: No, she's not. Did something happen to Buffy?

Spike started pacing in front of them. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the panic in him developing into fear.

SPIKE: I don't know. We were fighting and then...Damn it! I can't remember.

XANDER: Wait just a second, Captain Peroxide. I do not want to hear the words 'I can't remember' come out from your mouth. It only means two really bad things – you lost your memory or Buffy's in deep trouble.

Willow and Spike blinked in confusion.

XANDER: Ok, that didn't really make any sense but now is not the time to analyze my sentences.

He shook his head as if to prevent his thoughts from straying and turned back to Spike

XANDER: Tell us from the beginning what happened.

SPIKE: We went out looking for the Gyehu's nest, right? We found them and they attacked us.

XANDER: Nothing special there.

SPIKE: We kicked their asses but somehow I got hit with one of those rocks and I blacked out. That was the last thing I remembered. I came too about 15 minutes later and I found myself in my crypt. I don't know who got me there or how without catching the rays but somehow I got there. Buffy was nowhere to be seen. So I went back to the sewers where we fought the demons. But...

WILLOW: But what?

SPIKE: But I got lost.

XANDER: Lost? You got lost? What do you mean you got lost?

Spike gritted his teeth. He didn't like the tone the boy was using.

SPIKE: I got lost as in I couldn't find the place that we were in earlier. It's as if someone didn't want me to find Buffy. Like someone cursed the sewers to make it like a maze or something.

XANDER: Right. Then what happened?

SPIKE: I managed to find my way out and came here as soon as I could to see if she came back here.

WILLOW: We haven't heard from her since you guys left. She must still be down in the sewers. I can do a locator spell to find her.

XANDER: No, you are not. Giles is. You are going cold turkey, aren't you?

WILLOW: (softly) Oh, right. I forgot about my little addiction there.

Xander tossed her his cellphone.

XANDER: Call Giles and tell him the situation. Ask him to find Buffy in any way he can. I'm going to get some weapons and we are going back to the sewers.

Xander left the kitchen and headed towards the living. Spike followed closely behind.

SPIKE: What about the little bit?

XANDER: She's in school so we don't need to worry about her. We'll get Buffy by the time she gets home.

Spike took the crossbow that was handed to him and waited while he took another crossbow and a battle axe. At that moment, Willow walked in with Xander's phone in her hands.

XANDER: What did he say?

WILLOW: That he would be coming with us. He said that it would be better if he come as the spell would be more effective. Judging from what Spike, he thinks that he would have to do more than a locator spell.

SPIKE: Alright then. Let's get going. We don't have time to waste.

Fifteen minutes later, Spike led Giles, Xander and Willow down to the sewers while he recounted what happened to Giles. They stood just below the entrance and waited while Giles did the locator spell. A minute later, the ex-watcher turned back to them with a worried look on his face.

SPIKE: What do you gather, Rupert?

GILES: Something is preventing me from finding Buffy. Some sought of spell is blocking me from locating her. I think it's the same spell that made the sewers seem like a maze. That's why you got lost here when you came to find Buffy. I felt the darkness of the power of it when I was doing the spell. It's too strong for me to penetrate through to. Someone went through a lot of trouble to keep us from finding Buffy.

Spike cursed under his breathe. They were never going to find her.

XANDER: Someone big, scary and powerful, you think. (to Spike) You think the demons you guys fought has something to do with this?

SPIKE: (shakes his head) No, I don't think so. Gyehus aren't all that bright or so Buffy says. It's something or someone else.

WILLOW: What should we do now?

GILES: Well, we could try doing a counter spell that could try to break through whatever spell that's keeping us from Buffy. But only I doing it alone won't work. One person isn't powerful enough.

Willow's eyes widen in surprise. Spike couldn't help but notice a tinge of fear in them.

WILLOW: I...I don't think I can. I don't think I _should_.

GILES: It's the only way to make sure we can break down the spell.

SPIKE: Red, now it's not the time to worry about you going off the deep end. Buffy's need you.

XANDER: I can't believe I'm saying this but Spike's right.

GILES: Just focus on finding her and not on the power and you'll be fine.

WILLOW: But...I...

Spike grabbed her battle axe from her gestured for Giles to carry on.

SPIKE: Giles, get on with the spell. Willow's helping.

Giles approached Willow and handed her a small velvet pouch.

GILES: You know what to do?

Willow could only nod.

GILES: Don't worry, you'll be fine.

Willow opened the pouch and Spike caught a glimpse of the silvery powder inside. She grabbed a handful of it and the two of them started chanting is Latin. Spike watched as Willow threw the powder in the air while Giles raised his voice. Instead of scattering to the ground, the silver powder hovered in the air and started to glow. Giles' words caused the powder to swarm around them while Willow joined him in the chanting.

The glowing powder multiply and surrounded them like a swarm of bees. The glowing got brighter and a moment later, the four of them were enveloped in a bright silvery light. Except for Willow and Giles, Spike and Xander had to shield their eyes from the light all around them.

WILLOW: Boys, hang on to something!

Before Spike or Xander could ask her what she meant, the fine magic powder exploded, sending them to the other end of the sewers. They landed on top of each other. Willow turned to them in concern. Her face was pale and she trembled a little.

WILLOW: You guys ok?

XANDER: Oh yeah. We are more than fine.

SPIKE: Get your heavy butt of me, you sodding poof!

The two of them untangled themselves from each other and trudged back to where Willow and Giles was.

SPIKE: Did the spell work?

GILES: It should.

SPIKE: What do you mean it should? I thought you said this was a sure way to break the spell.

GILES: (snaps) Yes and the spell _should_ be broken. Show us where you encountered the demons and we'll know if it worked or not.

SPIKE: Fine. It's quite a long way out but I know where the place is. We'll know we are in the right place if you see a wall with a huge hole in it.

Spike brushed past them and went down the tunnel which turned sharply to the right a few meters away.

SPIKE: You guys stay here.

XANDER: What? Why?

SPIKE: Willow doesn't look so good.

It was then when Xander and Giles noticed Willow leaning against the sewer's grimy wall looking like she was about to pass out. She gave them a tight smile.

WILLOW: I think I lost it for a moment back there. But I'm fine now.

Spike left the three behind and made his way to where he and Buffy last fought the Gyehu demons. After a few twist and turns, Spike found himself in front of the gaping wall. Buffy was nowhere to be seen. Spike started to panic again.

Spike went to the other side of the wall to see if there was any sign of the slayer or anything that might indicate that she was there. The place was dark but Spike didn't have any trouble seeing. After venturing a few feet into the dark, smelly tunnel, his vampire vision caught sight of someone on the ground. He recognized that blond hair anywhere.

He rushed towards the unconscious slayer and was soon beside her. Buffy was sprawled on the ground, her face drained of color. She had a cut on her lip and her cream colored, sleeveless top was stained with blood and dirt. _Please don't let her be dead._ He touched her face and immediately drew back his hand when his fingers made contact with her skin. Her skin was too hot to touch.

SPIKE: Buffy?

She didn't respond.

Spike heard footsteps pounding towards him from behind but Spike ignored it. He shrugged off his jacket and carefully slipped Buffy's bare arms into its sleeves.

XANDER: Spike! Did you find – Holy queen of England! Is she alright?

SPIKE: I don't know but we need to get her home fast. Grab my crossbow, will you?

XANDER: Home? No way! We are getting her to a hospital. She doesn't look so good. For all we know, she could be dying.

Spike wasn't listening. All he cared about was getting Buffy to a safe place and the only safest place he knew was her home. It was either that or his crypt. But with Xander towering over him like that, his crypt was out of the question.

He slid his hands under the body of the unconscious Slayer and lifted her up. He stared walking towards the way he came from.

SPIKE: I don't think the doctors at the hospital will know what's wrong with her.

XANDER: Why? What's wrong with her?

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

**an hour later**

Giles took off his glasses and started wiping them. He regarded the group before him.

GILES: I don't know what's wrong with her.

WILLOW: Is she awake?

GILES: No.

WILLOW: Will she wake up?

GILES: (sigh) I don't know. So far, there's no sign as to whether she will.

Xander shot Spike a glare.

XANDER: I told you we should bring her to the hospital. The doctors there might have some luck in knowing what's wrong with her.

Spike opened his mouth to snap at him but Giles cut him off.

GILES: I don't think it would make a difference. Buffy was attacked by something other worldly and whatever happened to her must be along those lines. I don't think the doctors will be able to find out what's wrong with her.

SPIKE: Is she still hot?

Giles looked at him in confusion.

GILES: I beg your pardon?

SPIKE: I touched her when I found her and she was hot. Literally. Nearly burnt my bloody fingers off.

GILES: Well, she wasn't hot when I touched her.

XANDER: Does anyone else notice that there has been a lot of touching going on? Buffy will be pissed.

SPIKE: (ignores xander) Well, I'm not going to stay here and listen to all of you talk. I'm going upstairs to keep Buffy company. She might wake up. You guys hit the books and see if you can find anything about the Gyehu demons.

GILES: Right. Let us know if there are any changes to her condition.

Spike headed out of the living room and went upstairs where Buffy's room was. He entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Buffy didn't even stir. He grabbed a chair and set it down beside her bed and flopped down. He leaned forward and brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand.

SPIKE: (whispers) Hey, pet. You better wake up now, alright? We need you to find the bugger that did this to you.

He leaned back in his chair, laced his fingers together and placed them under his chin as he quietly watched her lay on the bed.

As Spike watched, Buffy dreamt.

_The light was too bright. _

_Everywhere Buffy looked there was light – bright, glaring light. She shielded her eyes and tried her best to study the area she was in but she couldn't see a thing at all. The light closed around her like a thick blanket. All she could see was bright, white, glaring light. _

_The light blinded her._

_A familiar voice reached her ears and she immediately recognized to whom it belonged to – the man in the sewers. The same man who injected that disgusting liquid into her. She spun round, trying her very best to look past the light to look for her adversary. She couldn't see anyone. _

_She was still blinded by the light._

_MAN: Who I am isn't important._

_BUFFY: Oh yes it does! Come out and show yourself!_

_MAN: I got something for you._

_His voice sounded closer, right behind her. Buffy whirled around but there was no one there._

_BUFFY: Come and give it to me then._

_The man appeared and Buffy could finally see him. The bright light surrounded him, making him look like an angel. He stood before Buffy and just like in the sewers; he had his hood up, obscuring his face. He flipped back his hood and Buffy gasped in recognition. _No, it can't be.

_MAN: No matter what._

_He smiled softly and took another step closer to Buffy. They were now so close that she could feel his breath on her face. She closed her eyes._

_MAN: I'll always love you._

_He leaned forward and kissed her. _

__

Buffy jolted awake and sat upright, gaping for air. Unlike in her dream, all she saw was darkness – endless and vast. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

SPIKE: Buffy, you're awake. Are you alright?

BUFFY: Spike, it's too dark. Turn the lights on.

She couldn't explain it but this darkness was different. She was never one who was afraid of the dark but this time she was. The darkness felt natural, like she was born to see darkness.

Like she was born blind.

SPIKE: Buffy, the light isn't off.

BUFFY: (shakes her head) No. It's...it's too dark. Spike, turn on the lights.

SPIKE: It's the middle of the afternoon, pet.

BUFFY: No, no, no. I can't...

She scrambled out of the bed with her hands stretched out in front of her. She swung them before her and her fingers brushed against a soft fabric. She grabbed hold of Spike's t-shirt like it was her lifeline.

BUFFY: I mean it, Spike. Don't play games with me. Turn it on!

Spike grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

SPIKE: Listen to me, pet. I'm not playing games with you. The room is flooded with sunlight. It's so bright in here I can feel my flesh starting to blister. Tell me what you see?

Buffy looked around and all she saw was darkness. There was nothing else. Absolutely nothing. A chill ran down her spin. _Please don't let this be happening to me. Not now. _

SPIKE: Buffy?

BUFFY: I...

SPIKE: Buffy, what do you see?

BUFFY: Nothing. I can't see anything.

**SOMEWHERE IN SUNNYDALE**

It was really nice to see her again. Really nice. He didn't know how much he missed her until he saw her in the sewers earlier. A familiar warmth spread through his body when he first laid eyes on her after so many long years. His heart still skipped a beat and he was still appalled at her beauty.

_She's more beautiful since the last time I saw her, _he thought dreamily as he lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her blond hair was shinier, shorter and her features were more refined. But her green eye still held that same spark and determination. However, he didn't like the fact that was a new found hardness in her eyes. He couldn't imagine what she had to go through in order to get that cold, unyielding look in her eyes.

He shook his head. No matter. All that matters was that he got to see her. The memory of their encounter flitted through this mind and he cringe at it. He knew he hurt her a lot. Her screams kind of confirmed that but it was something that had to be done. It was on his to do list after all. He closed his eyes and conjured up a picture of her face. _Ah, so beautiful. _A soft smile split his rugged face. _I wonder if she still remembers me. I hope she does. It would be too embarrassing if she didn't. _

Someone rapped on the door but he ignored it. It must be one of his lowly minions. The knock become more persistent and he cursed out loud. He climbed out of his bed and stalked towards the door. He swung the door open and raised an eyebrow at the demon before him. The Gyehu lowered his head in respect.

GYEHU: Sorry to disturb you sir but there has been a problem.

He didn't ask what the problem is. He just waited expectedly.

GYEHU: Help is being sent by the Slayer, sir. We just located him entering Sunnydale.

He frowned. _Help? So soon? Well, she's certainly more efficient than I thought. _He nodded that he understood and dismissed the demon. He shut the door and locked it. He went to the window and looked out at the city below. The sun was beginning to set and its last rays spread an orange glow throughout the city. It was a nice place to be in if you minus off the demons and other supernatural creatures that crept around at night. He understood why Buffy moved here. Her face floated through his mind once again and he smile dreamily.

He closed his eyes and savored the sound of her screams reverberating through his brain.

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

Angel was restless.

He has been ever since he left for Sunnydale an hour ago. Throughout the whole drive through, all kinds of scenarios flashed through his mind, making him to speed through the highway towards Sunnydale, which got him two tickets. As soon as he passed the "WELCOME TO SUNNYDALE" sign, he managed to relax just a little. But the knot in his stomach was still there.

Finally, he was in Revello Drive – finally, he was in front of Buffy's house.

The vampire climbed out of his convertible, slammed the door and walked briskly towards the front door of the Summers' household. He stood in front of the wooden door and took a deep breath which he didn't need. He inhaled just to calm his nerves. He smoothed down his jacket and ran a hand through his thick dark hair. He couldn't believe he still felt this nervous after all this time and he knew if his heart was still beating, it would be beating a mile a minute. Angel thought he might be over it by now.

He knocked on the door twice and stepped back. His vampire hearing caught footsteps coming down the stairs. A second later, the door opened, revealing Spike.

The two vampires stared at each other in surprise.

Spike blinked and the look of surprise disappeared. Instead, a scowl darkened his features. Angel mirrored his scowl. _What is this idiot doing here? Shouldn't he be dead by now?_ But Angel wasn't going to dwell on it too much. There had to be a good reason as to why he was in Buffy's house. Maybe then he will decide whether he should stake him or not. He had to concentrate at the task at hand.

SPIKE: What the hell are you doing here?

ANGEL: Nice to see you too, Spike. Is Buffy in?

SPIKE: What's the occasion?

Angel clenched his fists. _I do not have time for this._

ANGEL: Move out of the way, Spike, and let me in.

Spike didn't budge. He raised his chin.

SPIKE: What for?

Angel shoved him aside and entered the house. He smiled when he realized that he could. He caught Willow coming down the stairs. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Angel.

WILLOW: Angel! What are you doing here?

SPIKE: Probably here to ask Buffy to fight his battles. (to angel) I'm sorry, mate, but we ourselves pretty busy here. We'll let Buffy know that you stopped by.

WILLOW: He's right, Angel. It's not that we don't want to help but –

ANGEL: (interrupts her) No, I'm not here for help. I'm help.

Willow's eyes widen in surprise.

WILLOW: You know?

ANGEL: (nods) Cordy had this vision and she told me you guys were in trouble.

Angel caught Spike and Willow exchange a look and the knot in his stomach tightened. He felt like he was about to throw up.

SPIKE: (to willow) He doesn't know.

WILLOW: (to spike) He doesn't know.

ANGEL: Don't know what?

Willow took Angel by his elbow and led up towards the stairs leading to the second story.

WILLOW: Something happened to Buffy.

**BUFFY'S ROOM**

Buffy couldn't feel the sunshine on her face anymore and she guessed that the sun must have gone beyond the horizon and night was upon them. She didn't move away from the window. She continued to stare into the darkness stretched out before her. She thought that if she tried hard enough, she would be able to see out of the window and down into her backyard. She laughed to herself. She couldn't believe she was making excuses to herself so that she wouldn't move away from the window. She knew all to well why she didn't want to move. She didn't want to bump into something and make the situation all too real.

Buffy brought her hands up to her face and squinted. A rough image of her hands popped up in her mind and that was the closest she could ever see her hands. She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides.

She continued staring out of the window.

_I will see my backyard. I will see my backyard._

WILLOW: We don't really know what happened really. We found her unconscious in the sewers, quite beaten up. She didn't wake up until a few hours ago.

Angel's dark eyes were glued on the door they were approaching.

ANGEL: Where is she now?

WILLOW: Still in her room. She told us she needed to be alone and she hasn't come out of her room since. Xander and Giles have hit the books to see if there's anything mystical that could have happened to her. Anya is over at the shop researching also but so far we don't have anything yet.

The two of them stopped in front of Buffy's bedroom door. Spike came up behind them a second later.

SPIKE: I'm telling you, she won't see you.

ANGEL: She will.

SPIKE: And what makes you think so?

Angel looked pointedly at Spike. A hint of a smile tainted his lips.

ANGEL: She never turns me down.

WILLOW: We'll stay out here. In case you need us.

ANGEL: Thanks. But I think we'll be fine.

Buffy could hear voices outside her room door and she strained her ears to try to catch the words that were being exchanged. The voices were muffled and she couldn't make out what was being said nor did she recognize who they belonged to. However, the door couldn't mask the concern and fear in their tones which she could hear loud and clear.

Someone knocked softly on the door and she heard it open. Buffy closed her eyes and opened them again. She still couldn't see the window in front of her.

WILLOW: Hey, Buffy. There's...erm...someone here to see you.

Buffy turned her head towards Willow. There was darkness there as well.

BUFFY: Not...not right now, Will. Please?

WILLOW: I... (pause) Ok.

Buffy almost couldn't catch her last word. Her voice was softer as if she was talking to someone else. Buffy then heard the door closing softly and she turned back to her window. Still nothing

Her hairs on the back of her neck stood on ends as she felt the air move in the room. Someone was with her.

BUFFY: Spike, please...Not right now.

ANGEL: You know I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Spike's under the same roof as you.

Buffy's heart skipped a beat when Angel's voice flooded into her ears. She whipped around and scanned the darkness. _Where is he? Where is he?_

ANGEL: I'm right here.

BUFFY: Angel?

ANGEL: I'm right here, Buffy.

BUFFY: What are you doing here?

ANGEL: We had a heads up from the Powers That Be about what's going to happen so I thought I come by and give you guys a hand.

BUFFY: So this is just a beginning.

ANGEL: I'm afraid so.

BUFFY: Damn it! How am I suppose to stop whatever that's going to happen when I'm...I'm...

Her voice cracked and tears welled up in her eyes. Her voice somehow couldn't form the word blind. She felt him move towards her and slipped his strong arms around her, pulling her close.

ANGEL: Hey, it's alright. You don't have to do this by yourself. That's why I'm here. You don't have to go through this by yourself.

Buffy squeezed her eyes shut tightly and let the tears flowed. Buffy clung onto him as he stroked her hair soothingly. His scent wrapped around her like a warm comforting blanket, easing her tension just a little.

ANGEL: Shh...it's alright. It's going to be ok.

BUFFY: (crying) I can't, Angel. I just can't.

Angel pulled away but kept a firm grip on her shoulders.

ANGEL: (firmly) Hey, don't you _ever_ say that, ok? You're the Slayer. You can get through anything. I know you can. The whole gang is doing research and you'll regain your sight in no time.

Angel touched her face.

ANGEL: I won't leave until you can see again, ok? I'll be here. I won't leave.

Buffy nodded. She didn't want to admit it but she needed him here. She didn't know what she would be doing right now if he wasn't here with her.

BUFFY: I'm so glad you're here.

ANGEL: Me too.

Buffy reached out into the darkness before her and touched her ex-lover's face. Her fingers grazed his features, sending tingles down her arm.

BUFFY: I so badly want to see you right now?

ANGEL: Don't worry. You'll see me. I promise.

Buffy then felt his cold lips on hers and she kissed him back. The knots in her shoulders eased away and she kissed him harder. Old feelings that were bottled deep inside of her came rushing back, making her dizzy. A moment later, they broke apart and Angel leaned his forehead against hers. His cold skin sent shivers throughout her body.

ANGEL: Now, I really missed _that_.

BUFFY: (laughs) Oh yeah.

ANGEL: So you going to tell me what happened?

Buffy straightened and took a step back, the memories of her dream flashing through her mind.

ANGEL: Buffy, you ok?

BUFFY: Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine.

ANGEL: So what happened?

BUFFY: (distracted) There was this guy and he...he injected something into me.

ANGEL: Do you know what it was?

Buffy shook her head. Her mind was still on the memories of her dream. The face of the man who made her blind was burned in her brain.

BUFFY: It was some kind of gold liquid.

ANGEL: About the guy? Do you know who he was?

BUFFY: He –

A loud crash, which sounded like it came from downstairs, cut Buffy off. A moment later, Buffy heard Dawn screamed.

BUFFY: What's going on?

ANGEL: Stay here. I'll go downstairs and check it out.

BUFFY: I'm coming with you.

ANGEL: Buffy...

BUFFY: (interrupts) I still can fight. Just lead the way.

Buffy could hear Angel hesitated before he grabbed her hand and led her out of her room.

ANGEL: Just stay with me.

BUFFY: It's not like I can run away from you without bumping head first into a wall.

She didn't catch Angel's response as another loud crash came from downstairs.

**DOWNSTAIRS**

Spike was the first one to react when the first demon came crashing into the house. He rushed towards the snarling ape-like beast, snapped its neck and moved on to the second one – all in a moment. He heard Dawn screamed as he fought off the second demon. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Dawn being cornered by a vampire. Willow smashed a lamp over the vamp's head but it didn't deter him. He swung an arm at the witch and she went flying into Xander. The vampire turned its attention back to Dawn.

Spike finished off the demon he was busy with and went towards the vampire which had Dawn trapped. Spike pulled out a stake from his duster and yanked the creature of the night away from the little bit. He made sure the vamp stumbled back onto the stake, dusting the vampire in an instant.

SPIKE: You alright?

DAWN: (pants) Yeah. We got to help the others.

SPIKE: (nods) Stay close to me.

There were three more demons left in the house. Two vampires and other was the ape-like demon that Spike was fighting with earlier. The two vampires were going at it with Giles and Xander while the demon was being beaten by Willow with a baseball bat that she found.

Spike threw his stake at one of the vampires, dusting it while Dawn helped Giles stake the last one. Spike leaped onto the demon Willow was busy with and tackled it to the ground. He wrapped his hands around its thick neck and started crushing it. He felt the bones in the neck break beneath his grip. The demon roared in pain before going still.

Spike heard footsteps pounding down the stairs.

ANGEL: What's going on?

Spike stood up and dusted off his hands. He shrugged.

SPIKE: Not sure. All of a sudden these demons and vamps came crashing in with no invitation.

Spike spotted Buffy trailing behind Angel, her hand gripping tightly around Angel's upper arm.

SPIKE: (angrily) What is she doing here? It's not safe for her here.

BUFFY: I'll be fine, Spike. Is everyone ok? Dawn?

DAWN: Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit banged up.

ANGEL: How did the vamps enter?

GILES: I'm not so sure.

XANDER: Guys! Take a look outside. This house isn't the only one with the open invitation to all undead and company.

The group went towards the window and peered out into the dark streets. Angel and Buffy stood from afar, waiting for one of them to tell them what's happening outside. Vampires and creature of all species dominated the streets before them, breaking into houses and attacking people on the streets.

WILLOW: This is not good.

BUFFY: What's happening?

XANDER: The streets are crawling with demons and attacking everyone they see. It doesn't look good, Buffy.

BUFFY: Ok. Dawn, Willow, you and Xander go around the house and board up all windows and doors except for the front door. Angel, Spike, you both go out there and try to keep the demon population out there to a minimum. And in the meantime, get Anya from the Magic Box. I don't want us to be separated. Giles, make sure the vamps can't enter the house.

GILES: You want me to pull out the welcome mat?

BUFFY: Yes and I don't care how you do it. Just make sure they can't enter.

SPIKE: Buffy, I'm not leaving you here alone.

BUFFY: Spike, I'm not alone.

SPIKE: You know what I mean.

Buffy stared at his direction, her vacant eyes just going past his head.

BUFFY: No, I don't.

She turned to Angel.

BUFFY: Angel, you mind taking me to the kitchen. Giles, we'll do the research there.

GILES: Of course. The rest of you, you know what to do.

The gang went off in different directions and Angel slowly led Buffy towards the kitchen. Spike stepped up towards them.

SPIKE: (to angel) I need a minute alone with her.

Angel shot Spike a look before turning to Buffy.

ANGEL: Call me when you need me.

Buffy nodded. Spike took Buffy by her elbow as soon as Angel was gone and pulled her towards the living room.

BUFFY: Spike...

SPIKE: (interrupts) I don't want you staying here without me or Angel around. Let me stay and let the whelp go with Angel to get Anya.

Buffy stared in the direction where his hand held onto her elbow.

BUFFY: Spike, let go of me.

SPIKE: Not until you let me stay here with you.

Buffy tilted her head towards his direction.

BUFFY: You are going with Angel and that's final. I don't need a babysitter.

SPIKE: (snaps) Yes, you do. You are blind for goodness sake!

Buffy struck him across his face. Hard.

Spike let go of her arm and stared at the girl before him.

SPIKE: Buffy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just think that with you in this condition, you need someone to look out for you.

BUFFY: And that automatically means you.

SPIKE: I'm just trying to help.

BUFFY: Well don't. It's because of you that I ended up this way.

The words stung Spike just as much as her slap did. _Where is this coming from?_

BUFFY: You better go.

SPIKE: Are you listening to yourself? Are you sure you are alright?

Spike caught a flicker of emotion in Buffy's otherwise vacant eyes. He couldn't tell whether it was anger or fear. It disappeared as soon as it came.

BUFFY: I...Just go, Spike.

Spike cocked his head and studied the blind slayer. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her face was expressionless. He opened his mouth to ask her again whether she was ok but quickly shut his mouth before the words could spill out from his mouth. He knew he wouldn't get an answer from her.

SPIKE: Alright then. As you wish.

He brushed past her and stalked into the kitchen where Angel and Giles were. He didn't look back.

Buffy gasped as the sudden rage which built up within her subsided. She blinked in confusion and wondered what had just happened. She remember feeling the rage swelling inside of her like a distance storm when she came downstairs and no matter how she tried to push it away, it just kept getting bigger. It made her nauseous and Buffy had to put in a lot of effort to concentrate on the situation at hand.

It was only when she slapped Spike that she lost all control on the growing temper. The slap was the result of the anger taking control of her. The thought ran through her mind so fast that she wasn't able to think. All she saw was her hand striking Spike and his expression of pure horror. The anger dissipated as soon as it came after she hit him, leaving her exhausted.

What made it worst was that the anger felt natural. Just like her blindness.

ANGEL: Hey, everything alright?

Buffy felt both of his hand on her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. Buffy could only nod.

ANGEL: You sure? You don't look so good.

BUFFY: I'm fine.

ANGEL: Did Spike hurt you?

Buffy almost laughed.

BUFFY: Quite the opposite really.

ANGEL: I'm sure he deserved it, whatever it was.

Buffy didn't reply. _No, he didn't._

ANGEL: Well, I'm going to head out with Captain Peroxide. It's getting worst with the demons. You going to be ok?

BUFFY: I'll be fine.

ANGEL: I'll take you to Giles.

Buffy nodded and let Angel lead her to the kitchen where Giles had most probably already started on his research.

GILES: So it this the vision Cordelia received?

ANGEL: I think this is just the beginning.

GILES: Care to tell us about this vision of hers?

BUFFY: Yeah. I think it's about time you spilled the vision beans. (pause) No, wait, hold that thought.

The back door of the Summers' house burst opened and Buffy could hear about two vampires rushing in. A second later, she heard Angel, Spike and Giles springing into action. All she could do was sit back and listen to the sounds of fighting.

**AN HOUR LATER**

Anya was safely brought to the house. The house was safely boarded up. Demons still ran the streets, terrorizing the clueless citizens of Sunnydale and everyone was cramped into the kitchen, waiting for Angel to tell them about Cordelia's vision. Giles, Anya, Willow and Buffy were seated around the dining table while the others – Angel, Spike and Xander – stood around them.

Though Buffy couldn't see the urgency on their faces, she could feel it in the air. It was so thick that she could almost cut it with her new Aztec sword Giles gave to her a week ago. Angel shifted beside her and a moment later she felt the pressure of his hand on the back of her chair. A thrill unconsciously shot up her spine.

ANGEL: All Cordy saw was Sunnydale in chaos – major chaos. We don't really know how it happened or who is responsible.

XANDER: Well, at least we know how it _starts_.

WILLOW: You think what's going on out there is related to Sunnydale being in chaos?

XANDER: Look outside, Will. Chaos is all I see. And I think Buffy being blind has something to do with it too. Buffy can't see and all the creatures of the night start doing their extreme creaturing. Coincident much?

Buffy heard Giles started pacing and she guessed he was cleaning his glasses in the process as well. Concern was evident in his voice when he spoke.

GILES: Well, whatever it is, we have to try to stop it from getting out of hand.

BUFFY: I think it's a little too late for that.

GILES: W-We'll figure something out. Er...you got any idea who the person was that did...this to you?

A fleeting image of the man in her dream flashed through her mind. She was convinced that that was the same person who did this to her.

BUFFY: I didn't get to his face. But...

WILLOW: But what?

BUFFY: I think I know who he is.

GILES: You do?

BUFFY: Yeah. I didn't see his face but I recognized his voice.

XANDER: Well, give us his name and maybe point us to his direction. He's due for some serious butt-kicking.

SPIKE: (scoffs) Right. Like kicking this bloke's butt is going to help us solve this problem.

ANGEL: Spike, if you have a problem, take it outside. We don't need you bitching in here.

SPIKE: Watch your mouth there, Forehead.

GILES: Boys please. Now it's not the time to bicker. Let Buffy tell us who responsible for her blindness so that we can take action. Spewing verbal attacks at each other is not going to help.

SPIKE: Hey! He started it.

XANDER: But you continued with it. Should have kept your mouth shut but no, you had to call him forehead.

SPIKE: This doesn't concern you whelp.

XANDER: What did you call me?

BUFFY: Xander...

She stood up. She knew the two of them were in front of her so she got ready to pull them apart if she had to. Angel's hand fell on her shoulder, pulling her back a little. _I still can fight, Angel, _she thought, feeling the anger from before rising within her again.

XANDER: (to Buffy) No. I want to hear what he called me. (to Spike, sarcastically) I didn't quite hear with all the commotion from outside.

Buffy felt the air before her move and she guessed that Spike had moved towards Xander. And there was something else too – something that came from Spike and Xander in waves. It was so strong that Buffy could feel it from where she was. It felt familiar somehow and it didn't feel right.

SPIKE: Maybe I should spell it out for you then.

Buffy's slayer senses went on high alert.

BUFFY: Spike, just drop it.

ANGEL: (whispers to Buffy) I'll take care of this.

Angel's hand left her shoulder and his strong presence beside her was gone. She was about to call him back when someone slammed into her. The two of them fell to the ground hard. Pain shot through her chest where her bruised ribs were. _Damn! And here I thought I was healing all nicely._

DAWN: Buffy!

GILES: Spike! Stop this at once!

The weight on Buffy was gone and she felt someone pulling her to her feet.

ANGEL: You ok?

BUFFY: What the hell is going on?

ANGEL: Spike and Xander are at each other's throat. Literally.

BUFFY: What? Why?

ANGEL: Don't know. Stay here. I'm going to split them up.

And with that, Buffy was alone. She heard Anya shouting at Xander to stop in the midst of sounds of punches being landed on flesh.

BUFFY: Damn it! Someone stop them before they get hurt.

ANGEL: (grunts) On it.

She felt someone brushed against her and she instinctively grab hold of that person. Spike's familiar scent washed over her and she held on tight. He struggled against her grip and Buffy tried her best not to knock him out.

BUFFY: Where's Xander?

ANGEL: With me.

BUFFY: Good. Spike, stay still before I knock you out.

SPIKE: I shouldn't be the one getting spank here, Slayer. The boy started it first. He came at me!

BUFFY: I don't care who started it! Just calm down.

SPIKE: Fine.

Spike stopped his struggles but she still had a tight grip on him. She turned towards Angel's direction.

BUFFY: Angel?

ANGEL: He's restrained.

BUFFY: Good.

She let go of Spike and shoved him away.

BUFFY: What the hell just happened? Xander?

XANDER: (stammers) I...I don't know.

His voice came out weak and soft. He sounded extremely exhausted.

XANDER: I just felt so angry that I had to hit him. I wanted so badly to hit something. You don't understand how badly I wanted him.

Something clicked in Buffy's mind. She understood perfectly well how Xander felt. She felt the same just before she slapped Spike.

BUFFY: I think I do.

XANDER: (surprise) You do?

BUFFY: Yeah. I felt the same way before. I felt so angry. There was so much rage inside that I had to let it out. I thought I was going to explode if I didn't.

SPIKE: That's why you hit me just now.

BUFFY: Yeah. I just couldn't control it.

WILLOW: You think whatever affecting the demons outside might be affecting us as well?

ANYA: Something's affecting the demons?

WILLOW: Well, yeah. Why else would they all go loco and terrorize the streets? Something's affecting them, making them angry. And if they can affect Xander and Buffy, that means it can affect humans too.

ANYA: And before you know it, humans in Sunnydale will go all loco like the demons.

GILES: Bringing utter chaos. (mutters) Oh dear Lord.

BUFFY: That's what he wants.

GILES: He?

Buffy started pacing, anger starting to rise again. Instead of stifling it, she let it run through her veins.

BUFFY: I mean, it's a pretty basic plan, right? He takes me out of the picture and brings chaos to the world. And bam! He gets world domination.

DAWN: If you put it that way...

BUFFY: So now, we just find this son of a bitch and...

GILES: (interrupts her) Buffy, I think you should calm down before someone gets hurt.

Buffy stopped her pacing and took a deep breath. Anger was still rushing through her veins and she could feel herself losing control little by little.

BUFFY: You're right. I shouldn't let it take over me.

GILES: Good. Now, please sit down and tell us who this man is.

The whole town was in chaos. Buildings and cars were blazing; citizens of the town were screaming on top of their voice as demons of all kinds chased them down the streets; people were fighting with their neighbors and children were shooting their parents for not allowing them to watch the television – the whole town was indeed in utter chaos.

Everywhere he looked, blood and tears washed the dark streets of Sunnydale and he smiled at that. He finally completed the task he set out to do.

With two Gyehu demons on his both flanks, he sauntered down the chaos ridden streets, surveying the damage that he caused. It was a wonderful sight. He had been trying to achieve this for so many years and to do it in the very town where the hellmouth is situated was just an added bonus. Ah! What joy!

A bleeding woman came running up to him, screaming for help. He simply brushed her away and let the Gyehu demons take care of her. He wasn't in the mood to listen to the pathetic woman's screams. He had other plans.

He waited for the demons to finish off the woman before taking the lead once again. He strolled down the streets with the demons following closely behind. He turned around the corner and finally came to the road that led to place that he was looking for. The street he just turned into was the same like any other but the only difference was that there were people looting the stores that dotted either side of the street.

He went past a few stores before coming to a stop in front of the one that he was looking for. He glanced up at the sign above his head. _Huh. Magic Box. Cute name._

He gestured with his head for his minions to break down the door and they did so without a moments pause. The heavy wooden door broke into pieces upon impact and the Gyehu cleared the doorway for him. He crossed the threshold and surveyed the store. Its interior was bigger than he first expected. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were stuff with books, ancient and new. At the far right hand side was the cashier's counter and directly opposite it was a round table. He grinned. _So that's where the knights gather. _His minions didn't waste time tearing the shop apart – they were briefed earlier on what to look for.

He sauntered further into the shop, heading towards where the round table was. There was a set of steep steps behind the table leading to a loft. The walls there were also lines with books – _many ancient looking books_. He ascended the steps quickly, excitement creeping into his body. Once on top, he quickly scanned the gold titles printed on the worn spines of each book. His heart sank when the book he was looking for wasn't among them. _Damn it! Where is it? _He whirled around and wondered whether the demons found anything.

The shop was completely ransacked. Books, papers and artifacts were scattered all over the store's floor – most of them in many pieces. He smiled at the mess his demons made. He certainly trained them well. The demons stopped their searching and looked at him. They shrugged. He roared and slammed his wrists onto the wooden railing, rattling it. _Where the hell is it?_

GYEHU: Sir, maybe it's with them. We could go to their...

He shot the demon a look that shut it up immediately. He didn't want any suggestions from the lower being. He never took suggestions from them and neither does he take orders. He got down from the loft, stalked past the demons and out of the door. The Gyehus followed immediately. His anger quickly dissipated as he stalked down the blood-soaked street of Sunnydale. That Gyehu could be right – the book might be with the Watcher. He sighed at the thought of getting the book from them. It wasn't time for him to come face to face with them yet – with _her _yet.

But there wasn't enough time for the ritual and he needed the book now. He could always send the Gyehus to retrieve the book for him but he knew it would be a futile effort. The demons might be strong but he had to admit, they weren't strong enough. He was the only one with power. Buffy had her friends who could fight well and she also had two very strong vampires on her side. And who knows what Buffy was capable off even though she was blind. For all he know, her other senses could have heightened. He didn't exactly read up much about her slayer powers and what kind of effect his potion could have had on it.

GYEHU: Sir? Are we going to the Slayer's home?

He stopped in this tracks and finally took notice of his surroundings. He was so lost in thought that he didn't pay attention to where he was going. He found himself walking towards the direction of Buffy's house.

Huh. Guess he takes suggestions after all.

**SUMMERS'S HOUSEHOLD**

Buffy could feel Dawn's horrified gaze and the other's confuse gazes on her. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

DAWN: Are you sure it was him? I mean...it can't be!

BUFFY: It's him. I didn't recognize his voice at first but then I had this dream. And he was in it. That was when it all clicked. I know, I can't believe it either. I never knew he could be so...

DAWN: (exclaims) Evil!

BUFFY: Evil is such a strong word.

DAWN: Buffy, he made you blind and he may have a hand in this 'bring-chaos-to-Sunnydale' scenario.

BUFFY: (sighs) I know. I just...Argh! I don't know what to think right now. I'm still in a tale spin.

XANDER: So is all of us. Buffy, who is this guy you are talking and dreaming about?

BUFFY: He's someone from my past. My L.A., Hemry past.

WILLOW: Oh.

XANDER: That's explains a lot. (pause) Not!

WILLOW: Xander!

XANDER: What? I'm just trying to grasp at what's going on.

WILLOW: Did it ever occur to you that she may not want to talk about it.

ANYA: Well, she has to if we want to stop him, right? I mean, how are we going to stop him when we don't know who he is or how he looks like or whether or not he had sex with Buffy one time or the other.

BUFFY: Hey! I did _not _have sex with him!

DAWN: You didn't?

XANDER: You mean, he was someone who was in a position to have sex with you?

SPIKE: (smirks) I guess it's safe to say that this bloke was someone close.

Buffy lowered her head.

BUFFY: He was.

GILES: Well, I think we should stop discussing whether or not Buffy had sex with this man and focus on the task at hand.

BUFFY: Yes, let's!

GILES: W-We should split up, search the places where we think he might be hiding out.

SPIKE: And how are we to do that without having demons and not to mention mad raging humans jumping our backs?

There was a slight pause and Buffy guessed that Giles had removed his glasses to clean them yet again.

GILES: I don't know. But we can't sit here and do nothing.

The sound of a chair scraping back was heard.

SPIKE: So let's go out there then and find Buffy's bloke. We don't have all night.

ANGEL: What about Buffy?

Her head snapped to his direction. He knew what he asking about and she didn't like it. She already didn't like the fact at how vulnerable she was feeling right now without her sight and she knew Angel mentioning it to the others would just make her feel eve more useless. She never liked being or feeling useless. She could feel a distant anger rising within her at the thought of being useless.

BUFFY: What about Buffy?

SPIKE: She can't go out there with us. She'll probably hold us back. She has to stay here.

ANGEL: I'll stay with her to make sure she's alright.

BUFFY: Hey! I'm blind not deaf. Don't talk about me like I'm not here.

SPIKE: Sorry, pet. I didn't mean it that way.

BUFFY: And I can take care of myself. I'm going with you all.

SPIKE: (scoffs) And how would you do that? Trail behind us with a bloody cane? Or maybe with one of those seeing-eye dogs?

Buffy balled her wrists. She nearly had to use all her strength to pin them against her sides to prevent herself from lashing out at the blond vampire – wherever he was.

BUFFY: Oh don't you start with me, Spike.

XANDER: Er...guys? Watch your anger ok? We don't want a rerun of what happened just now.

ANGEL: Spike, just back off. Whatever you are feeling, it's not real. Control it and you'll be fine.

SPIKE: Hey, I'm just saying. Don't get all huffy on me for nothing. And whatever I'm feeling is 100 natural. I'm genuinely concern for her.

BUFFY: (scoffs) Of course you are.

SPIKE: Hey, why are you biting my head off for? (to angel) And you are saying _I'm_ not controlling my feelings?

GILES: Alright, let's all just try to calm down. We can't afford to let our anger to spill over.

SPIKE: And that means you too, pet.

_SPIKE: I've never been with such an animal._

The words registered in Buffy's brain so loud and clear that she wasn't sure whether she imagined it or whether it really spilled out from Spike's mouth. Imagined or not, that sentence nearly pushed her over the edge. Fury hummed in her veins, blocking her sense to think.

BUFFY: What did you just say?

SPIKE: What? When?

Buffy ignored him and stood up from her seat. She took a step forward. She knew he was directly in front of her. She could sense him from afar.

BUFFY: (sneers) I'm an animal? You're the one drinking blood and you're calling me an animal?

SPIKE: What are –?

BUFFY: (interrupts him) Just because you got me once, you think you can get me again?

SPIKE: (confuse) What the bleeding hell are you going on about?

She took another step forward, gritting her teeth as she tried her very best to control the fury that was coursing through her body. But it was hard to do so. She didn't want to admit it but the anger felt good.

BUFFY: (shouting) I'm sick and tired of your love-sick attitude you put on when you are around me. And I'm definitely am sick of you thinking that you know what's best for me.

SPIKE: You are certainly off your noggins, Slayer. Angel, you better put a leash on her before she snaps.

She felt Angel's hands on her shoulders, rooting her to the ground. He gave her a slight shake.

ANGEL: Buffy, you have to calm down. You have to take control of the anger before it takes control of you. You can fight it.

Angel was right. She had to take control of it. But it felt so good to let go.

DAWN: Spike, I think you should leave the room for a minute to let her calm down.

ANYA: Yeah, I think she's going to snap.

SPIKE: Fine. I need a smoke anyway.

_SPIKE: What would they think of you if they found out all the things you've done? _

With that, Buffy lost all control. Anger, rage, fury – whatever you want to call it – took control of her mind and in turn told her to take a lunge at Spike. She wanted so badly to regain control but she just couldn't and she didn't know why. Maybe she wasn't strong enough or maybe, deep inside, this is what she always wanted – beat the crap out of the demon that made her feel so much repulsion whenever she looked at herself in the mirror. Her mind screamed at her to beat him down, to make him pay for all those nights he made her feel.

And she obeyed.

She pushed Angel's hands off her shoulders and lunged in the direction she knew Spike was. Fortunately for her, he hadn't left his spot. Unfortunately for him, she slammed into him, sending the two of them sprawling to the ground. She managed to straddle him and she reached out to find his face. Her fingers made contact with his sharp cheekbones and she grabbed his face, immobilizing him. Beneath her hand, she felt Spike's human features melting away to reveal the demon's one.

_Hit him! Hit him till he learns his lesson, _her mind screamed.

BUFFY: (yelling) You son of a bitch, you made me hate myself!

She drew back her free hand and punched him as hard as she could, her hand, which was holding onto his face, moving away in time for her fist to connect with his jaw.

XANDER: Buffy stop! You're going to kill him.

_XANDER: Kill him!_

She punched him again and this time she felt his flesh tearing upon impact. She felt his cold blood coating her fist.

BUFFY: I'll kill you!

DAWN: Angel! Do something!

A moment later, she felt a pair of strong, powerful hands on her shoulders, trying to pry her away from the blond vampire beneath her. She swatted Angel away easily and a second later heard a loud crash from the other side of the kitchen. She punched Spike some more, increasing her rhythm.

BUFFY: I hate you! (punches) I'll make sure you pay before you touch me again (punches again).

SPIKE: Buffy, please...stop.

BUFFY: Shut up!

She hit him a couple more times before she felt herself being pulled away by Angel. He had his arms around her waist as he carried her off Spike. She struggled against his grip, screaming at the blond vampire.

BUFFY: I hate you, Spike! I hate you!

Angel tightened his hold around her as he whispered into her ear.

ANGEL: Listen to me, Buffy. Take control of the anger. It's the only way to stop this.

BUFFY: Touch me again and I'll kill you! You hear me, bastard?!

GILES: Dear Lord! Spike, are you alright?

Buffy didn't get to hear Spike's response as they voices grew softer and more distant. She guessed Angel was bringing her away from the kitchen and somewhere else where she couldn't hurt Spike anymore. She struggled even harder against Angel.

BUFFY: Let me go, Angel! He needs to pay!

ANGEL: (grunts) I'm sure he does but not right now. And I'm not letting you go until you promise me to take control of yourself.

Buffy's feet touched solid ground as Angel lowered her but he still kept a tight embrace around her waist.

ANGEL: Focus on the anger and control it, Buffy. You can do it.

BUFFY: I...

ANGEL: You can do it, Buffy.

Even though she couldn't see the room, she could feel it spinning as dizziness took over her. She felt the anger draining slowly, causing her to gasp for air.

ANGEL: That's it. Take control.

BUFFY: (gasps) Angel...

ANGEL: Shhh...it's alright. It's over.

Her voice shook as she spoke. She felt so drained.

BUFFY: Oh God, Angel. I...I like it. I like it so much.

ANGEL: It's over now. Don't worry about it.

BUFFY: What have I done? What have I done?

She broke down crying as Angel let go of her. She sank to her knees, sobbing quietly. A picture of her pummeling Spike to a bloody pulp sprang into her mind, making the situation so much more real for her. She started scrubbing her fists to get Spike's blood out. Her hand was starting to reek of his blood.

BUFFY: I need to get it off. Please help me get it off.

ANGEL: Buffy –

BUFFY: (interrupts him) No, Angel. I need to get it off. It...it burns.

She felt him move towards her and a moment later felt his ever-comforting arms wrap around her, pulling her close. She clung onto him as she cried into his chest, her tears and Spike's blood soaking his shirt.

_What have I become?_

ANGEL: Shhh...It's alright. Just let it all out.

BUFFY: (whispers) What have I become?

**LATER**

ANGEL: Here, drink this. You'll feel better.

Angel pressed a steaming mug of something into Buffy's hand. She gripped it and took a sip. The hot, bitter liquid stung her tongue and the back of her throat as she swallowed but she welcomed the pain. She needed the pain to distract her from the image of a bloody Spike seared in her head. She grimaced at the very acrid after taste.

BUFFY: What is this?

ANGEL: It's something Willow made. Said it will keep you calm. Everyone had to drink it. It's quite good actually.

BUFFY: (smirks) Says the vampire with dead taste buds.

Angel chuckled.

ANGEL: One of the plus points for being an undead.

Buffy took another sip for good measure and made a face at the foul taste. She hugged the mug to her chest, the heat from the liquid warming her up.

BUFFY: How...how is he?

ANGEL: He'll be fine. He passed out for a few minutes but he's fine now.

Buffy hung her head. She stared into the darkness where her cup was.

BUFFY: Is it bad?

ANGEL: No, I don't think so. I heard Giles saying that he nearly broke his jaw but I think he just sustained some cuts, that's all.

Her stomach clenched when she heard Angel said she nearly broke his jaw.

BUFFY: Oh. Ok. Good.

ANGEL: Don't worry, Buffy. He'll be fine. Another vampire plus is that it's hard to take us out. And don't forget the fast healing.

BUFFY: Yeah. I know.

ANGEL: Good. So don't stress over it. There are more things to worry about.

There was but Buffy couldn't help thinking that she was the one she needed to worry about even more. What she did to Spike was something she never thought she would do even though there are times when he deserved it. She was like a completely different person back then.

BUFFY: (utters) I liked it.

ANGEL: Liked what?

BUFFY: The anger. The rage. I liked it. A lot.

She heard the couch squeak as Angel shifted his weight.

ANGEL: Everyone likes anger, Buffy. It makes them feel powerful. It's normal.

Buffy shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes as she was reminded once more of what she did.

BUFFY: I've never felt so angry in my life. It nearly consumed me. If you didn't...

She trailed off as she wondered what would happened if he didn't pull her away. She shuddered at the thought. She looked in Angel's direction

BUFFY: I'm so scared, Angel. I'm scared that if I feel this angry again, it would take over and consume me.

Angel took her hand when he spoke. His voice much nearer than before.

ANGEL: It won't. Nothing like that will happen.

BUFFY: But it will! I know it will. I can feel it.

She climbed to her feet and moved away from the couch she was sitting on.

BUFFY: I don't want to hurt anyone. Thank goodness it was Spike just now.

She whirled around and hoped she was looking at Angel.

BUFFY: What if it was Xander who was under me? Or you? Or Dawn?

Buffy's voice cracked when she said Dawn's name. Her stomach tightened even more when the picture of her pounding Spike was replaced by her beating on Dawn. Her grip on the mug tightened and felt the porcelain crack. She felt like she was going to throw up.

The mug was plucked from her hand and she found herself being gathered into Angel's arms a moment later.

ANGEL: Now you listen to me very carefully. I will _not_ let you hurt anyone. You understand. As long as I'm around, I will not let that happen.

BUFFY: Promise?

Angel pressed his cold lips against her forehead.

ANGEL: I promise.

Buffy nodded against his chest, grateful that he was here with her. Her thoughts started to stray again and images of her hurting the people she loved played out before her eyes. She squeezed them shut and willed the images to go away but instead it just continued playing like a personal movie.

For someone blind, she was certainly seeing a lot.

She pulled away from her ex-lover and took a deep breath.

BUFFY: Where is everybody?

ANGEL: Willow's with Spike upstairs and the rest are in the kitchen doing some research. They are still trying to find a way to get your sight back.

BUFFY: How about outside? How are things there?

ANGEL: Well, things have quieted down a little but it's still a bit chaotic.

BUFFY: We should –

Someone rapping on the front door cut Buffy off and she frowned. Everyone she knew was safe in the house and she couldn't guess who it could be at the door. She didn't think it was demons as they don't usually knock. They prefer to burst right through.

ANGEL: I'll get it.

BUFFY: Be careful.

She waited for a second before she finally heard Angel opening the door. She didn't hear Angel speak but all she heard was a man saying hello and then she felt someone flying past her in full speed. A loud thump was then heard.

ANGEL: Ok. That's it! I'm getting tired of me flying around the place!

BUFFY: Angel, what's –

MAN: Alright then. How about we finish this once and for all?

Buffy's blood almost froze when she recognized the voice. _It's him!_

BUFFY: Angel, it's him!

ANGEL: On it! Just Stay there!

Buffy scowled. Well, it wasn't like she could move without crashing into something. So, instead, she dropped into her fighting stance and strained her ears to the sounds of fighting. From what she gathered, the fight between Angel and the intruder was a few meters away from her so she was safe from getting caught in the middle. She wasn't worried though. Giles had taught her well on how to fight in the dark.

GILES: What the hell is going on?

DAWN: It's him! That's the guy!

More sounds of fighting ensued and Buffy was getting jittery. She couldn't tell who was wining but from the sounds of the grunts and the heavy punches, the intruder didn't come alone.

BUFFY: Dawn! Stay back!

DAWN: I'm trying! But there's too many of them!

Buffy's heart started to race.

BUFFY: Too many of what?

Dawn didn't reply. _Didn't or couldn't?_ Buffy started to panic.

BUFFY: Dawn! Too many of what?

She got her answer when she heard a growl right in front of her. The Gyehu's rancid breath hit her face, causing her to gag. She didn't wait for it to make its first move as she gave it a sharp uppercut aimed at the demon's throat. The Gyehu made a gurgling sound and she took its moment of weakness to give it a kick in its midsection. She took a step forward, felt for its neck and gave it a snap. She let the demon fall to the floor with a thump.

WILLOW: Buffy! Behind you!

Before Willow's warning could register, Buffy felt two huge hands encircling her from behind. One of the spikes, which were protruding from the Gyehu's chest, pierced through Buffy's left shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. The blue beast started to squeeze her. Buffy could feel the bones in her body starting to strain under the pressure.

She closed her eyes and snapped her head back hard. The back of her head connected with the demons' forehead and it grunted in anger but didn't let go. She connected again and again until a bunch of stars exploded in her head as her head started to throb. She couldn't struggle against the demon's clutches as the spike prevented her from doing so.

MAN: Don't kill her! I want her alive!

She heard the Gyehu grunted its understanding and felt it loosen its hug but not loose enough for Buffy to break free. Buffy gritted her teeth as the pain in her left shoulder started to subside and the whole of her left arm started to become numb.

_Damn it! I hate being blind._

__

Spike couldn't tell from upstairs what was happening but what he could tell was that it wasn't good. Red left in a hurry and she didn't tell him why. She just ran out of the room, dropping the blood stained cloth she was using to clean his wound, when she heard urgent voices coming from downstairs. Spike wanted to follow – really he did – but the sudden dizziness he felt when he got to his feet stopped him for doing so.

And he couldn't shout for Willow to stop either. His face felt like a pin cushion. The cuts and bruises on his face were like pins being pushed into his skin, causing his whole face to be in pain all the time. He couldn't blink without flinching in pain and he certainly couldn't move his mouth to form words without causing more pain to shoot throughout his face. So he could do was to lie back in bed and listen to the commotion that was going on downstairs.

Spike heard Willow scream a warning to Buffy and he clenched his fists. He should be out there helping them out – helping Buffy out – not in here feeling all pained and useless. So, he swung his legs out of bed, stood up, waited for the dizziness to pass and rushed out of the door. He pounded down the stairs and quickly headed towards the living room.

About six Gyehu demons were giving a full on attack on the rest of the Scooby gang. A tall man about Buffy's age was fighting one-on-one with Angel and it looked like he was gaining the upper hand as the souled vampire took a couple of punches and went down to his knees. At the corner of the living room, Spike spotted Buffy with a Gyehu demon attached to her back. The Slayer wasn't struggling or putting on a fight and Spike knew why when he caught sight of a mean looking spike protruding from her left shoulder. Blood seeped out from her blouse, staining it with a bright red color.

Spike growled and resisted an urge to bring the vampire out. He knew changing to his game face would bring a world of pain that would drive him to his knees. Instead, he ran further into the living room towards the Slayer, dodging on-coming attacks in the process.

When he reached the demon and Buffy, he grabbed hold of the spike with both hands and yanked it with all his strength he could muster. The spike tore from the Gyehu's body and through Buffy's shoulder. The two of them cried out in pain, falling to the ground. He took Buffy's hand and pulled her to her feet.

_Sorry, love, _he mentally told her, knowing that talking was going to be a bit of a problem. He released her hand and with the Gyehu's ripped spike in his hand, he towered over the wounded demon. _Want to know why they call me Spike?_ he mentally asked the Gyehu.He raised the blue spike above his head and plunged it into the Gyehu's forehead, driving the spike deep into its skull and brain. The creature died instantly. _That's why._

Spike turned his attention back to Buffy, who was looking around, trying to get her bearings. Her right hand was pressed against her wounded left shoulder to stop the bleeding. He was about to reach out for her when something slammed into him from behind. He crashed to the floor hard. He flipped onto his back and saw another Gyehu standing above him. The creature growled before opening its maw and spitting a blue rock at him. He rolled out of the way a split second before it could hit his face. He got onto his feet and faced the Gyehu. His eyes widen when he came face to face with another blue rock. This time, he was too late to get out of the way and the rock hit him in the face. His facial features exploded in pain and Spike fell back to the ground. The pain was too much for him to handle that he blacked out.

But not before catching sight of the tall man grabbing Buffy from behind and dragging her out of the living room.

Everyone was too busy with their fight to take notice.

Buffy thrashed hard against her captor's hold but he was too strong for her. He had one hand over her mouth, tightly gripping her face in the process and his other hand was around her stomach, pinning her arms to her sides. She couldn't move her injured left hand and her head as well. His grip on her mouth was too tight and it kept her head immobile – moving her head might break her neck and she didn't want that to happen. All she had left was her legs.

She swung them with all her might, trying to make some sort of contact with her captor but all her legs could find was air and more air. He hold on her face tightened.

MAN: Do you want me to snap you neck, Buffy? Now, stay still 'cause that's what I'll do it you don't.

Buffy didn't obey. She moved her legs even more. Her movement caused him to stumble a little and she heard him cursed under his breath. She grinned behind his hand and continue to move some more.

MAN: You are very stubborn, you know that.

With a warning, he threw her to the ground. Buffy hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out from her. She sat up, clutching her wounded arm with her good hand and strained her ears to hear surroundings. She couldn't hear the loud sounds of fighting anymore, just faint sounds and Buffy guessed she must be somewhere upstairs. She heard the door slam shut.

MAN: Well, now. Finally, I get you alone.

Buffy slowly got to her feet. She made all her senses go on high alert. They needed to be if she wanted to avoid another stabbing or breaking of bones. She listened carefully to his footfalls on the carpet. He was starting to pace now just a few feet away from her. He stopped and she focused on the sound of his breathing.

MAN: Well then, Buffy, hello.

BUFFY: Hello, Pike.

**DOWNSTAIRS**

Giles ran behind the lumbering Gyehu, following it into the kitchen. He grabbed a vase on the way and threw it at the blue creature. The vase hit the back of the demon, shattering into a thousand pieces but it didn't deter the Gyehu. It kept proceeding towards the kitchen.

GILES: Hey! Look at me when I smash things at you!

The Gyehu didn't pay any attention to him. Upon reaching the kitchen, the Gyehu headed straight to the counter where all of Giles' books were lying around. With a grunt, Giles leapt onto the demons back and wrapped his arm around the demon's thick, blue neck.

GILES: You are not getting away that easily.

The throat beneath his arm started to vibrate as the creature rambled out a growl. It then shook its body violently causing Giles to lose his grip around the Gyehu's neck. Another shake and Giles fell to the ground in a heap. Giles scrambled to his feet and he was about to go after the demon one more time when what he saw made him pause. The Gyehu was looking through the pile of books on the counter top. An angry growl spilling from the lips of the demon after tearing through every book made Giles guessed that whatever it was looking for wasn't among that particular pile.

GILES: Er...what are you looking for?

He didn't know whether the creature could understand him but the way its beady eyes moved over the titles made it look like it could read.

The Gyehu looked over at him, anger clouding over its ugly features. It gave a snorting sound before – much to Giles' surprise – replying him.

GYEHU: It's none of your business.

Giles blinked at the demon.

GILES: You...You speak English.

The Gyehu didn't answer him. It turned its attention back to the books.

GILES: What are you looking for?

The Gyehu picked up a thick, ancient looking book and stretched its lips to what only Giles assumed was a smile. It tucked the book under its arm and turned towards Giles.

GYEHU: Get out of the way, old man. Let me through.

GILES: Not with that. That belongs to me.

GYEHU: My master needs this.

GILES: Well, I need it to. More than your master, I must add.

The Gyehu roared before charging towards him. Giles had a spilt second to move before the nasty looking spikes could impale him. He took that spilt second to pick up a book, which weighed a ton, from the counter and struck the demon across its face as hard as he could. The ugly, blue creature spun round and fell to the floor unconscious, the book disappearing underneath the massive bulk.

Giles crouched beside the fallen creature, flipped it over and pulled out the book from its hand. He turned the book till the front cover faced him and read the title.

GILES: "The Sorcery of the Seven Rulers"? Hmmm...that explains everything.

Footsteps pounded behind and Giles glanced over his shoulder as Angel ran in.

ANGEL: Giles, where's the other –

He cut short when he finally noticed the unconscious demon on the floor.

ANGEL: Oh, you took care of it.

GILES: Yes. And I think it just led me to a clue.

ANGEL: Good.

Angel caught his gaze, worry etched on the vampire's face.

ANGEL: Where's Buffy?

The two men bolted out of the kitchen without another word.

**UPSTAIRS**

Buffy's heart pounded in her chest as she fought to stay focus on the sound of Pike's breathing instead of the numbing pain in her left arm. She gripped the wound a little more tightly as she felt more blood trickling out. Buffy grimaced as that movement shot a searing pain up her arm.

PIKE: So, Buffy, long time no see. How have you been?

BUFFY: What do you want from me?

He chuckled.

PIKE: Now, it that the way to greet your ex-boyfriend?

BUFFY: Emphasis on the word 'ex'.

PIKE: So that's how you want to play it huh? Sure, sure, no problem. If that's what you want.

She heard his footsteps heading in her direction and she braced herself for an attack. He stopped in front of her and a moment later, she felt his fingertips grazed her cheek.

PIKE: I just thought that you were happy to see me, that's all. It's been so long since we saw each other right?

BUFFY: In case you didn't notice, I'm having a bit of trouble seeing right now so excuse me when I don't feel happy to see you.

PIKE: Right. Of course. I'm sorry about that. I just needed you out of the picture for awhile while I do my thing.

BUFFY: Why are you doing this?

PIKE: Why not do this? This is fun, isn't it?

BUFFY: Right. See me giddy with fun. You need help, P –

He pressed his fingers against her lips, stopping her from saying his name.

PIKE: Shh! You heard that? (pause) I think the last of my demons just died. Well, that was fast wasn't it? And here I thought we could catch up on old times. Not to worry, we'll meet again.

Pike took his hand away but she didn't hear him move away.

BUFFY: You don't have to do this. I'm sure there's another way to get what you want.

PIKE: Yeah well, this way is more exciting.

BUFFY: Really? Cause this just shows me what a cold hearted jerk you are. I never knew you were capable of doing this, Pike. You never could hurt a fly and now you are hurting people?

PIKE: Yes, well, things change. People change.

BUFFY: Maybe. But not a 360 degree one.

She could hear the dreamy smile on his face when he spoke.

PIKE: Well, let's just say that I saw the light. It told me all the good things I could achieve, that I could get you. What man can resist?

BUFFY: Who, Pike? Who made you do this?

She heard him sigh.

PIKE: Well, I should be going now. Your friends would be up here soon and I don't want to be caught.

Buffy grabbed his shirt before he could walk away.

BUFFY: Pike, who put you up for this?

PIKE: I...

BUFFY: (interrupts him) At least make me see again. Please.

PIKE: I'll see you soon, Buffy.

He dropped a kiss on her forehead, pried her fingers from his shirt and walked away. Buffy started after him.

BUFFY: Pike please!

She reached out for him again but she only managed to grab air. A minute later, she heard a couple of footsteps thumping into the room.

ANGEL: Buffy, where is he?

BUFFY: I...I don't know. He just left.

ANGEL: Are you ok? Did he hurt you?

Buffy shook her head. Then she finally realized that Giles was in the room.

GILES: We better get that wound checked out. It doesn't look good.

BUFFY: I'll be fine. How's the rest?

GILES: All in one piece but banged up.

BUFFY: Good. I want all of us to saddle up. We are going to find Pike.

ANGEL: Buffy, shouldn't we do a bit of research first and get an idea of what we are up against.

BUFFY: We are up against my ex-boyfriend!

ANGEL: Who has more power in his little pinkie than I do in my whole body. I felt his power when he was beating the crap out of me. He's strong and we need to do a bit of research first to see how we can take him down.

BUFFY: I think we did enough research already. You are just giving excuses to stay in the house so that we wouldn't get our asses kicked.

ANGEL: We are getting our asses kicked whether we stay indoors or not. Look, I know you are worried about this Pike guy but keep in mind, Buffy, he's the bad guy.

Buffy gritted her teeth as the all to familiar anger came rushing back to her. _Think of happy thoughts, Summers, think of happy thoughts._

BUFFY: (yelling) You think I don't know that? We need to go out there to help him before it's too late.

ANGEL: Help him? You mean beat him up. Really hard.

BUFFY: He's not evil. He's _working_ for someone evil. Well, that's the impression I got when he was talking to me.

GILES: What did he say?

BUFFY: He said something about seeing the light. And unless he has light bulbs hanging from the back of his eyelids, I say that this light is coming from someone else. Someone powerful. That's why I propose we got out there now and find him before he falls deeper into trouble with whoever he's working for.

Angel sighed.

ANGEL: Fine.

BUFFY: Good. Thank you.

There was a moment of silence before Giles spoke up.

GILES: I think I know who he's working for.

**LATER**

**living room**

XANDER: "The Sorcery of the Seven Rulers". Ok, so far the only words I understood were 'of' and 'the'. Oh! And those exclamation marks at the end.

DAWN: I don't think those are exclamation marks, Xand. I think they are horns.

XANDER: Oh yeah?

DAWN: Yeah. See the pointy thing over there? And that end attached to the head –

BUFFY: (interrupts them) Guys.

XANDER: Oh right. Sorry. Focusing on impending danger now.

BUFFY: (to giles) Where did you get the book? And ow!

Buffy flinched when Angel touched a raw spot on her shoulder while he bandaged up her arm. He mumbled an apology.

GILES: I didn't. One of Pike's Gyehus led me to it.

BUFFY: What is it about?

ANYA: About the Seven Rulers apparently. And their sorcery.

BUFFY: I meant to say what about the Sever Rulers and their sorcery? What are the Seven Rulers?

GILES: Well, they are the most powerful, strongest and evil higher beings out there in the underworld. The whole book is in Hebrew and I've only translated three of the Rulers so far; Ruler of Darkness, Ruler of Pain and Ruler of, well, Chaos.

XANDER: Ding, ding, ding! We got our man!

GILES: Yes, looks like we have. This Ruler has the power to bring chaos to a world in any dimension. He feeds from the pain and anger resulted from this chaotic world and he grows stronger.

WILLOW: The anger we all feel triggers off the chaos. So we have anger first, chaos and then pain and more anger which is fed off by the Ruler. It's all a cycle really.

BUFFY: So how do we beat this guy?

GILES: I haven't really translated that part yet. I-I'll work on it.

Buffy heard the rustling of pages being turned and then Willow's voice.

WILLOW: It says here that the Rulers are indestructible. Well, not really indestructible, more like they are very, very hard to be killed. The only things that came close in beating the Rulers were the Knights. There are seven of them – one for each Ruler.

GILES: Ah yes, the Knights. They are like the slayers of the Rulers. If I remember correctly, one of them managed to strip the powers of the Ruler of Chaos.

WILLOW: Yeah, he did. It happened when the Ruler had one of the worlds under his control. The Knight stopped him by finding a way to strip the Ruler's power away from him, making it inaccessible. To make sure that the Ruler will never have a chance to regain its powers, the Knight bound the Ruler in spirit form. To break from this spell, the world, any world, has to be under it power's control

XANDER: Smart Knight.

WILLOW: But the Ruler was smarter. According to this book, the Ruler found a way to control humans to do its dirty work. So through the humans, the Ruler tries to get the world under control so that the Ruler can be human again.

BUFFY: Well, that explains Pike's sudden personality transplant and the super human strength.

GILES: The book here gives a step by step method on how to tap into the Ruler's powers, that's why the Gyehu was after it. Pike had gotten some of the Ruler's powers and want the rest of it by getting his hands on this book.

ANGEL: But after so many years, why hasn't the Ruler succeeded?

GILES: Well, most of the humans that were taken control by Ruler weren't strong enough to take in all of the Ruler's powers. I don't think any normal human being is strong enough to do so. Taking power this powerful will surely kill them.

BUFFY: So we must stop Pike from getting all of the Ruler's powers 'cause unless he isn't a normal human being, I don't think he is strong enough either.

DAWN: Is there any way to take Pike out of the Ruler's control? 'Cause I don't think we would be able to stop Pike with him being in control of the Ruler.

BUFFY: Dawn's right. Willow, you and Giles read that book from cover to cover and see if there's anyway to release Pike from the Ruler's control and see if there's a way to beat the Ruler once and for all. I want that Ruler dead.

WILLOW: We'll try our best. Can't promise you anything though.

ANGEL: What about you? We still need to find a way for you to see again.

BUFFY: We can do that later. Stopping Pike is more important.

WILLOW: Actually, I think I may have an idea how to make you see again. We have been looking at the mystical area of it that we didn't consider looking at the scientific direction of it. All I need is a sample of your blood and I'll see whether I can find an antidote to counter the effects of the serum Pike injected into you.

BUFFY: I guess there's no harm in trying.

WILLOW: Just wait right here. I'll go get my stuff.

Buffy heard the chair scraping back and the footsteps of Willow leaving the living room.

ANGEL: How about Spike and I look around for this Pike guy. See where's he's shacked up so once we got everything we know to bring him down, we won't have to waste anytime looking for him. What you say?

BUFFY: Yeah, that sounds good. But I'm not sure Spike would be up for it. He may be feeling a little sore.

SPIKE: I'm fine. I'm up for it.

Buffy jumped at the sound of Spike's voice coming from behind her. His voice sounded muffled and pained like it took a lot of effort just to talk. Buffy was not surprise. The beating she gave him was so brutal that she wouldn't be surprise if he couldn't talk at all.

But what she was surprised about was that he was in the living room with the rest of them. She didn't expect to hear him there. She thought, after all she had done to him, he would at least try to stay away from her. She shifted in her seat so that she was facing in his direction.

BUFFY: Spike, I didn't know you were here. Are you sure you are ok? You don't have to go if you don't want to.

SPIKE: I'll be fine. Angel, we better get a move on if we want to find this guy fast.

Spike's reply was curt and Buffy winced internally at what she thought was hostility in his tone. She was about to open her mouth to say something to him when the sound of receding footsteps cut her off. She sighed and shifted back in her seat.

ANGEL: I better go. We'll be back as soon as possible.

Buffy nodded and felt Angel move away. Someone placed a hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

XANDER: Don't worry, Buffy. I think he's over it.

BUFFY: What?

XANDER: Spike. I think he forgave you for beating him to a bloody pulp.

BUFFY: I don't know...

XANDER: He's a vampire, Buff. He gets this every day from all kinds of demons. I'm sure he's used to it. Besides, he's long overdue a good slayer pounding.

BUFFY: He didn't deserve it.

ANYA: Well, from what you were saying while you were pummeling him, I say he deserved it.

DAWN: It wasn't true right? What you said?

Buffy didn't know what to say to her sister. All she knew was that she couldn't tell them that what she yelled at Spike were all true. The only way to go was to lie to them in the face but Dawn's worried tone made it harder for her to do just that. So, instead, she just shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief.

DAWN: Thank goodness! I just thought, you know.

XANDER: She probably wasn't thinking when it happened. You know how you say things without thinking first. Anya does that all the time.

ANYA: Yes, I do. It's a skill.

XANDER: Look on the bright side, Buff, at least he's back to hating you again.

As Angel and Spike trudged through the chaos ridden streets of Sunnydale, Angel's thoughts couldn't help going back to why Spike was mingling among Buffy and her friends without getting some sort of resent or hateful feelings towards him. He had seen the way he acted around them and Angel was puzzled as too how comfortable and at home Spike was. Besides Xander, the rest welcomed Spike like he was a long lost friend.

But one thing stood out for Angel like a sore thumb and just thinking about it made him grit his teeth in anger.

He didn't get a chance to ask Spike when the two of them went out to get Anya. Both vampires were too occupied with the current situation that Angel didn't bother bringing the subject up. But now that he has the chance, he couldn't pass it up without knowing the truth.

He turned towards the blond vampire who was keeping pace beside him. Spike was silent as his blue eyes roamed the streets, looking for anything out of ordinary or any of the Gyehu demons. He was silent when they left the Summers' home and didn't utter a word since. Angel wasn't sure whether he could with all that cut and bruises he sustained from Buffy. Not that he felt pity for him or anything.

Angel cleared his throat, hoping to get the other vampire's attention. Spike gaze flickered on him for a brief moment before returning back to the street before him.

ANGEL: I was wondering. How did you and Buffy become friends?

Spike looked at him with his scared eyebrow raised.

ANGEL: I always thought she hated you so much she couldn't stand the sight of you so I was just wondering why the sudden change in heart.

SPIKE: Long story.

ANGEL: Yeah? Ok. You think I would be filled in on that long story some time before this is all over?

Spike shrugged, not being as responding as Angel liked his to be.

ANGEL: Ok. I guess I have to wait and see then.

SPIKE: Yeah, you do that.

ANGEL: Do you love her?

Angel braced himself for the answer. He wasn't sure what reply he was going to get from the peroxide haired vampire but hoped it was a good one. In other words, he hoped Spike would say no and nothing else resembling a 'yes'.

SPIKE: Why'd you ask?

ANGEL: I've seen the way you act around her and I'm a bit clueless as to why you do the things that you do.

SPIKE: Things have changed during the past year. We've became friends. Close friends.

ANGEL: Just friends?

SPIKE: Just friends.

ANGEL: That's it?

SPIKE: That's it.

ANGEL: That's it.

SPIKE: Angel.

Spike grabbed Angel's arm, stopping him and nodded somewhere to his right. Angel followed his gesture and spotted two Gyehus lumbering down the street.

ANGEL: You thinking we follow them?

Spike nodded and they set off.

Twenty minutes later, the two vampires found themselves heading towards the Sunnydale docks. Unlike the other places in town, the docks were much quieter and chaos free. The docks were home to the natural and the supernatural big bad so Angel guessed that most were out on the streets causing trouble. The two Gyehus that they were following plodded towards a two-storey warehouse.

ANGEL: You think there's where Pike is?

SPIKE: No harm in looking.

ANGEL: Let's go.

They hurried towards the warehouse with Angel in the lead, making as less noise as they possibly could. Once they reached the building, they crept along the wall that led to one of the doors, staying low on the ground and staying close to the shadows.

Voices streamed out from the cracks under the door and Angel immediately recognized that it belonged to Pike. He didn't sound happy. Angel crouched down and faced Spike who was trying to get a look inside through one of the windows. He grabbed the sleeve of the smaller vampire's jacket and pulled him away from the window.

ANGEL: Stay low. We don't want to be caught.

Spike scowled but didn't protest. All the talking from earlier probably took a toll on his bruises. He yanked his sleeve away from him and Angel couldn't help but smirk. He never gotten to know a Spike who doesn't say much and now that he has, he liked him a lot more than the normal Spike. _Guess now I know what shuts his trap. I should keep that in mind._

ANGEL: Ok, you go back and tell the rest where Pike is hiding. I'll stay here and keep watch. If he leaves or does anything interesting, tell them I'll stay in touch with my cellphone.

Spike wasn't one who would take orders from anybody especially from Angel and Angel was definitely surprise when Spike looked like he was about to protest but instead snapped his mouth shut and nodded. He sprinted quietly away without another word.

Angel scanned the area in front of the warehouse, searching for a place where he could hide and keep a look out on Pike without getting noticed. He caught sight of an empty guard house a few meters away from where he was. It was dark and stood in the shadows without attracting much attention, perfect for Angel to hide in.

Angel froze when he heard footsteps heading towards the door. He pinned himself against the wall of the warehouse and waited for the door to open. The knob rattled for a minute and then the door swung open, causing light from the interior to spill out into the darkness. He flattened himself against the wall as much as he could and hoped the light didn't catch him. A Gyehu shambled out of the warehouse and stood just in front of the vampire. It cocked its head as if listening to the wind. The door swayed shut.

Angel leaped out from his hiding place, wrapped his strong arms around its thick neck and snapped it. All this happened in one fluid, quiet motion. He grabbed the demon before it could fall to the ground and dragged it towards the side of the warehouse. He knew he was taking a big risk by knocking the demon out permanently but he didn't have a choice. Gyehus have a keen sense of smell and it would be a matter of seconds before it smelt Angel and noticed the vampire's presence. It was better to knock it out without the demon knowing he was there than for it to know Angel was there and put up a noisy fight.

Angel stayed with the dead demon and waited to see if any of the other Gyehus or Pike himself heard the little ambush outside. When he was sure that no one heard him, he crept back to where he last was. He still could hear voices coming from the inside – but this time not Pike's voice – and Angel guessed that everyone inside was still clueless about the missing demon. But he knew that they won't stay clueless for long.

He was about to head towards the empty guard house when someone from behind grabbed the collar of his duster, pulling him back. He yanked free and faced the newcomer. Pike grinned as he tapped a mean looking baseball bat into his palm.

PIKE: Hey, Angel. I'm surprise to see you here. Did you come alone?

Angel stood up and was about to swing his first punch when Pike struck the baseball bat hard across his face. Angel tumbled to the ground upon impact. His ears started to ring and he felt blood coating the insides of his mouth. He tried to get to his feet but Pike smacked him again –this time on the shoulder blades, forcing him stay on the ground.

Another hit to the back of his head and darkness engulfed Angel.

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

The house was buzzing with activity as soon as Spike got back with news on where Pike and his Gyehu gang were residing. Dawn and Anya started gathering necessary weapons needed for the impending battle – if there was going to be one – and Giles and Xander went on working on some of the leads they had on how to defeat the Ruler. Willow was in the kitchen still working on the blood sample Buffy had given her.

Buffy immediately started to worry about Angel when Spike told her what he was up to. Though she knew Angel was capable of taking care of himself, she still could shake the nagging feeling in the back of her mind of what might happen to him if he got caught by Pike. She still didn't have the full scope on what Pike was capable of.

Spike was getting more vocal and Buffy guessed he was starting to heal. He kept her company by sitting with her in the living room while the others went about with their various tasks, all the while bitching about how Angel ordered him around when they were out looking for Pike. What she did to Spike still lingered in the back of her mind and Buffy felt a bit uncomfortable sitting with him so she just tried her best to concentrate on his words and tried to push the uneasiness she felt away.

A few minutes later, Giles and Xander came into the living, talking quietly to each other. From the excitement in their voices, Buffy guessed that they brought some good news.

BUFFY: Anything good?

GILES: Yes, there is. We've been cross-referencing, making some calls and doing a lot of reading...

XANDER: So you can see how brain dead I am.

GILES: ...And I think we've come up with a good, solid plan.

BUFFY: Does that include me permanently defeating this Ruler dude?

GILES: Well, we still don't know how much of our plan will actually work but if it does then I don't see why you can't defeat the Ruler.

BUFFY: Good. So what's the plan?

Buffy heard someone entering the living room, joining them.

DAWN: We got a plan already?

XANDER: Yup. Thanks to Giles and the inner research kid in me.

ANYA: So what is it?

GILES: Get Willow downstairs and I'll fill you in. We need everybody on board for this.

Buffy couldn't help but noticed the nervousness in Giles' voice. The uneasiness she was trying to push away came back much stronger and this time it wasn't because of Spike.

**WAREHOUSE**

Angel woke up with a searing pain at the back of his head and at his shoulder blades. The right side of his face felt numb and both of his hands were immobile. He glanced up and saw why. Both of his wrists were handcuffed tight to a round metal hoop, which was nailed into on of the walls of the warehouse. Angel struggled against his restrains but all he succeeded in doing was rattling the handcuffs against the metal hoop. The hoop didn't show any signs of budging. Angel studied the handcuffs and the hoop and frowned. It looked normal enough for a vampire like him to break free but somehow he couldn't. _I must be even weaker than I thought. _

Angel gave up on his restrains and decided to study on his surroundings instead. The warehouse was dimly lit with only two bare light bulbs hanging from the low ceiling. The place was bare with no furniture in sight. The only things in the warehouse were about a dozen or so Gyehus standing in two rows on either side of him. Pike stood in between the rows of demons, away from the light.

PIKE: I can tell you now that it's no use trying to escape. The handcuffs are magically bound.

Pike approached him, coming out of the shadows and stood directly under one of the bare light bulbs with a grinned on his face. He was wearing a black robe with slivery borders and he had tribal markings marked on his face. The markings marred his features, making him unrecognizable.

PIKE: So save your strength, Angel. You might need it.

ANGEL: You better let me go. You won't like me when I'm angry.

PIKE: That won't be a problem since we are all safe from the anger from outside. This warehouse is chaos free.

ANGEL: Listen to me, Pike. This powers you trying to get? It's too powerful for a human to handle. It will kill you.

Pike's face darkened and he snarled. The scowl and the markings on his face made him look less of a human.

PIKE: I can handle it.

ANGEL: You sure? So is that why this warehouse is chaos free? You know that a tinge of anger will push you over the edge that's why you have perfect order in here. One sign of chaos or anger, you will lose all control on your powers that you have now because you aren't strong enough. So tell me, Pike, are you really sure you can handle the 100 power boost?

PIKE: Enough! I will not hear anymore of your ramblings. Let me remind you that you are the one handcuffed here not me. So one more word out of you and I'll make sure that the handcuffs aren't the only thing to worry about.

Pike took a step forward and cocked his head slightly. He chewed on his lower lip as he frowned thoughtfully.

PIKE: You know, I'm still trying to figure out why she fell in love with you. Sure you have the tall, dark, handsome and brooding thing going but that's all I see. I don't see what you can give her to make her happy.

ANGEL: I think you better brush up on your Angel-Buffy history cause I'm not in her life anymore.

PIKE: Right, you're not. It's the other vampire that is.

Angel narrowed his eyes at Pike. He didn't like where this was going.

PIKE: (laughs) First you and now him. And you would think that she learnt her lesson by now. Anyway, enough but her. This isn't about her. This is about you.

ANGEL: And how is that?

PIKE: Well, I need blood for my ritual and a sacrifice so that's where you come in.

ANGEL: Sacrifice. Right. (mutters) All rituals need a sacrifice.

PIKE: But that's just the beginning.

Pike turned and started walking away but still kept on talking.

PIKE: This ritual only allows me to get some of the powers but not all. The only way for me to get all the powers is to follow another ritual which is in that book that that Watcher has.

He turned and faced Angel again.

PIKE: So I need you to make a choice.

Angel raised his chin and waited for him to continue.

PIKE: Either you are my sacrifice and let me get that little power or call your friends to bring the book to me. And then I'll let you go.

ANGEL: That's not a choice. Both ways, I'll die and so will my friends. What kind of choice is that?

PIKE: True. (shrugs) Well, in that case, how about I sent more of my Gyehus to their house right now and get that book? Since you are here, one less obstacle to face while my demons tear the house down, right?

Pike gestured and nearly all the demons started to go for the door. Angel's mind raced as he thought over the options he was given. Both, he knew, would kill him and the rest but he thought about which option would give him – the rest – more time to keep Pike away from more power till they came up with some solid plan to take him down.

ANGEL: Wait! Stop!

The demons stopped and looked at their master. Pike raised his brow at the vampire expectedly.

ANGEL: I'll make a choice.

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

Buffy's mind reeled as Giles words sank in. Only one word describe the plan he just laid out for her; stupid. No one said a word. Everyone, she guessed, was probably just as surprise at the plan as she was. Then Spike spoke up.

SPIKE: Did you guys just lost your marbles? You've got to be kidding me.

GILES: It's the only way we know that will surely defeat the Ruler – that will surely end all of this.

SPIKE: That has to be some other way. Do you how risky this is? And here I thought Angel was the only one who comes up with ridiculous plans.

WILLOW: But if we do it right, nothing will go wrong right?

GILES: Well, it shouldn't and I have complete faith that this will come out right. Unless something goes wrong.

XANDER: You have to say that, don't you? You couldn't have just let us feel hopeful for once.

GILES: I'm just giving you two sides of the coin.

BUFFY: Ok, so let me get this straight. In order to beat the Ruler, we need him...or her...or whatever to be in human form.

GILES: Yes.

BUFFY: And for that to happen, Pike has to get all of the Ruler's power and have the world under his control.

GILES: Yes and since the Ruler's actual body has been disintegrated a few hundred years ago, the Ruler will inhibit Pike's body. Pike will cease to exists. Once the Ruler is in human form, all we need is his blood and the tears of the Knight to perform the destruction spell.

Buffy nodded, absorbing all in.

SPIKE: And where do we get a bloody Knight?

GILES: I made some calls and managed to get in contact with a man I know very well who has in depth knowledge on the Knights and the Rulers. The Knight may be dead but their essences are still kept alive in case this sought of thing happen. I got the spell from him and this spell would direct the essence of the Knight into a human, resurrecting the Knight.

XANDER: Just like the Ruler.

GILES: Not exactly. That person will just get the powers of the Knight but won't become the Knight.

DAWN: So any human can be this Knight?

GILES: No. Like the Ruler, the Knight's essence is as powerful so that person has to be strong enough but unlike the Ruler, this person doesn't need to be human.

SPIKE: It can be a vampire.

GILES: Yes.

DAWN: So what about the Ruler? You said Pike wasn't strong enough to get all the Ruler's powers so who's going to take it then?

GILES: Well, a human stronger than any other human. And the only person I know who is as strong is...

Giles trailed off as Buffy pursed her lips grimly, the words beginning to register. She could feel all eyes in the room on her.

BUFFY: Me.

**WAREHOUSE**

Pike folded his arms across his robe clad chest and waited for Angel to speak. Angel's eyes darted around the warehouse, eyeing each Gyehu demon. At the flick of his head, the Gyehus started filing back into their two rows. He saw Angel relaxed just a little and the vampire faced him once more.

PIKE: Well? I'm waiting and I'm not a patient man.

Pike saw the souled vampire hesitate before speaking again.

ANGEL: I'll get the book for you.

Pike grinned, his eyes glistening at the thought of getting hold of that book and getting in reach of the Ruler's powers. Frankly, Pike was surprise that Angel decided to get the book for him instead of giving up his undead life. Pike was so sure that the vampire would take the noble route that he started to plan which body part to cut off first.

He wanted to go with the heart first.

PIKE: Good. I'm glad you made a decision.

He fished out a mobile phone from the deep pockets of his robe and flipped it open. He drew nearer to Angel and started dialing the number he knew by hard.

PIKE: Tell Buffy to bring the book here in half an hours' time, alone. Say anything else and you'll be sacrificed. Understood?

Angel nodded. Pike pressed the call button and pressed the handset against the vampire's ear. Pike could hear the muffled ringing tone before the other end of the line was picked up.

ANGEL: Willow? It's Angel. I need to speak to Buffy.

**SUMMERS' HOUSEHOLD**

Buffy hung up the phone and chewed on her lower lip anxiously. She was afraid that something like this was going to happen and now that it has, she wasn't sure whether to do what Angel had ask her to do or to something else – something that won't cost her Angel's life.

GILES: Buffy? Is everything ok?

Buffy snapped back to attention, turning her head to where the others were crowding around.

SPIKE: Pike's on the move?

BUFFY: No. Pike has him. He has Angel hostage and he wants a trade – the book for Angel's life.

SPIKE: I knew that poof would get caught with him being so bulky and all.

WILLOW: So what you suggest we do?

BUFFY: We give him the book.

SPIKE: Oh bullocks! You hand Pike that book and we are as good as dead.

BUFFY: We can make a show that we are giving him the book but instead we go there, call forth the Ruler and kick its ass.

DAWN: So we are going with Giles' plan?

ANYA: Ok since when did we agree to this crazy plan? Cause I didn't exactly hear a resounding "go plan go".

BUFFY: Anya, we don't exactly have a choice. We only have a 30 minute date line and that's not enough for us to come up with another plan. This is the only plan that's crazy enough to work.

XANDER: Ok so we'll go with this highly-effective-but-also-highly-dangerous-to-our-health plan but what about you?

Buffy frowned.

BUFFY: What about me?

XANDER: In case you haven't noticed, Buff, but you are walking in this blind. Literally.

WILLOW: Just give me more time and I'll –

BUFFY: But we don't have more time, Will. Right now, Angel's life in my priority. I can manage.

GILES: You sure.

BUFFY: You thought me enough for me be sure.

SPIKE: Well, that's a good enough reason for me. Should we go and save Captain Forehead's life then?

XANDER: You ready?

BUFFY: As ready as I'll ever be.

XANDER: Good enough for me. Just remember we got your back.

Buffy nodded, the darkness spread before her looking more intimidating than before.

BUFFY: You filled in the rest on what the signal is?

XANDER: Yeah.

BUFFY: What's the signal?

XANDER: Lots and lots of me screaming.

Buffy gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

BUFFY: You'll be fine.

XANDER: Alright then. I say less pep talk and more action. What do you say?

BUFFY: (grimly) I say go, plan, go.

With her final words hanging in the air, Xander led Buffy into the warehouse where Pike was waiting for them. The rest were at their designated spots, waiting for things to heat up before coming in for battle. With her favorite sword slung across her back, ancient book in hand and Xander gripping the other, the two of them ventured further into the warehouse.

XANDER: (whispers) Holy mother of pearls.

BUFFY: (whispers) What? What is it?

XANDER: There are a lot of demons in here. The blue rock spewing kind.

BUFFY: How many?

XANDER: I don't know. I lost count after the first dozen.

Buffy's mind screamed for her to get Xander out. She didn't want him to be in the middle of something that involves too many demons and her not able to protect the both of them.

BUFFY: Xander...

XANDER: (interrupts her) You tell me to leave and I'll take that book and run. We can do this, hundreds of demons or no.

Buffy nodded, feeling renewed strength coursing through her.

BUFFY: Do you see Angel?

XANDER: No, but I do see Mr. Ex-boyfriend and he's all robey.

BUFFY: Well, if he's expecting a ritual, we'll give him one.

PIKE: Ah, Buffy! I see you brought the book (pause) and a friend. I thought I told you to come alone.

BUFFY: Well, my order for one of those seeing-eye dogs hasn't been put through yet so until it has, Xander's my eyes.

PIKE: Right. Of course.

BUFFY: Where's Angel?

PIKE: He's here. Hand me the book and you'll get him.

BUFFY: No. Let Xander see Angel and if he says Angel's good, you'll get the book.

Silence descended upon them and Buffy was sure that Pike would back out from the deal. She heard a grunt from a nearby demon and she tensed. She felt Xander shift uncomfortably next to her.

BUFFY: What's happening?

XANDER: Not sure but the demons just moved a step towards us.

She was about to ask about Pike when his voice stopped her.

PIKE: Bring in the vampire!

She heard a few grunts and heavy footsteps thudding away. A moment later, she heard Xander take in a sharp intake of breath and Buffy knew at once that things weren't going good for them.

BUFFY: (whispers) What is it?

XANDER: (whispers) It's Angel.

BUFFY: Is he ok?

XANDER: Let's just say that I wouldn't want to be him right now.

PIKE: So? Are you satisfied? He's not dust so that's good enough for you right? So you mind handing over the book now?

That was Buffy's cue. She started reciting the spell she memorized under her breath. Xander dropped her hand and took the book she was holding.

XANDER: Here's your book. Come and get it.

PIKE: Lester, get that book.

Xander smirked.

XANDER: Lester? You named your demon Lester?

PIKE: I don't name my demons.

XANDER: Ok, so you got the book. Now let Angel go.

Pike snapped his fingers and a couple of demons started to untie the vampire. Buffy continued chanting, all the while keeping on high alert, listening to every breath in the warehouse, focusing on every growl.

XANDER: You ready?

Buffy nodded, still repeating the incantation over and over again. _Here we go. _As if on cue, Pike's cries of outrage rang through the warehouse. Buffy felt Xander leave her side and she raised a her voice, the words spilling out from her mouth filled with power and strength.

PIKE: Stop her!

Pike's voice, the sound of the door of the warehouse bursting open and the angry growls of the Gyehus were all drowned out as a sudden supernatural wind picked up in the warehouse. Buffy's hair whipped around her face as the wind picked up speed. She stumbled a little but managed to hold her ground. Her voice grew even louder, beating the sound of the wind and the sound of distant fighting.

When Xander grabbed hold of him and pulled him away from the Gyehus that released him, two things gripped Angel's dead heart; fear and panic. And when he heard Pike screaming that the book he was handed to was fake, the fear in him continued to grow.

ANGEL: I don't think it's wise to make him mad. Seeing how he has great powers and everything.

XANDER: Don't worry, big guy, we got it under control.

ANGEL: Mind filling me in?

XANDER: We are going to call forth the Ruler and the Knight. We got a plan on how to beat the Ruler.

The two of them crouched down at the corner of the warehouse and waited. Angel's body was racked in pain. The whole of his chest still burned from the holy water that the Gyehus poured on him and his back still bore deep, painful lashes from Pike's whip. He didn't know where his shirt and jacket were but right now he couldn't be bothered in finding them. He pushed the pain aside and focused on the situation at hand.

The door of the warehouse flew opened and the rest, with Giles leading the way, rushed inside with various weapons in hand. He and Xander watched as the Gyehus started to attack the newcomers. Buffy stood rooted to the ground not far off, talking to herself.

ANGEL: What's Buffy doing? She's going to get herself killed if she stays there.

He started to move for the Slayer but Xander stopped him, pulling him back down to the corner. Inside the warehouse, a small hurricane was brewing, whipping at them and stinging Angel's open wounds.

XANDER: She'll be fine. Don't worry about her. There's something you need to do.

Xander pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. He flipped it open and scanned through the contents.

ANGEL: What's this?

XANDER: You are going to play the role of the Knight. Say that spell and you'll get the Knight's powers. Use it to draw blood from the Ruler then cry.

Angel stared at the human incredulously.

ANGEL: What?!

XANDER: The tears of the Knight kills the Ruler – it's spirit. We found out that the Knight's tears have some sort of power that kills the Ruler. We aren't really clear on how it works but it does. Just cry on her wound and it will all be over.

ANGEL: Her?

XANDER: Buffy Summers stars as the Ruler.

Angel faced Buffy and noticed that she was talking more loudly now and he could hear some of her words. What she was saying weren't English and Angel realized that she was saying the spell that would call forth the Ruler power's into her. He looked back at the boy beside him.

ANGEL: You sure this would work?

XANDER: Yes. Just say the spell, Angel, before it's too late.

Before Angel could do anything else, an inhuman roar reverberated throughout the warehouse, chilling Angel to the bone. He turned back and saw Buffy extending her hand towards Pike's chest. A second later, a bright white light blasted from her hand slamming itself into Pike. Pike's mouth hang open in a silent scream as Buffy looked on with a smile on her face.

ANGEL: What's she doing?

XANDER: She's getting the Ruler's remaining powers from Pike. Or so I think.

The white light vanished and Pike slumped to the ground unconscious. Around them, the Gyehus and the rest were still fighting.

XANDER: So, tell me, my vampire friend, what do you get when you give a slayer more powers?

_Trouble, _Angel thought bleakly.

Buffy's head snapped back as the remaining powers from Pike coursed through her body. The powers she called upon herself and the powers from Pike mingled with her blood and caused an explosion of pain within her. She roared again and this time the cry caused the walls of the warehouse to shudder. Plaster from the ceiling fell to the ground around her but she didn't notice. What she did notice was that the darkness that surrounded her – the darkness that she grew accustom to – was starting to lift. Little by little the darkness slowly evaporated and Buffy could see blur images of her surroundings.

Another wave of pain rushed through her and Buffy fell to her knees, gasping. _This is too much. I need it to stop. _Now she knew why a normal human being wouldn't live through the full power boost. Thank goodness for slayer's high tolerance of pain.

She fell forward on her hands, her breaths coming out shallow and ragged. _Oh God, this is too much_. Somewhere in the distant she heard someone calling out her name. She looked up and all she saw was a blurry image approaching her. She immediately recognized who it was from the familiar silhouette

BUFFY: It hurts.

ANGEL: I know. Just hang in there ok? You still need to bring the Ruler to human form.

Buffy clenched her jaw as he took a step towards her. He shouldn't be near her. She could feel strong powers and something else very scary within her and she doesn't want anybody she cared about near her. She just knew that she might do something dangerous.

ANGEL: Buffy...

BUFFY: (whispers) Stay away from me.

ANGEL: Buffy...

BUFFY: (yells) Stay away from me!

She got to her knees, her arm reaching out for the vampire before her, palms out and brimming with deadly energy. Without thinking, a blast shot out from both palms, hitting Angel squarely in the chest. The flash caused Angel to fly back into a wall, taking a chunk out.

Buffy's mind spun as she realized what she just did. Her eyes widen in surprise when she saw Angel slowly getting to his feet – surprised that she could actually _see_ Angel and surprise that Angel was still moving. The blast should have killed him. No one – vampire or human – could have survived that blast. She herself gingerly got to her feet, her body humming as she felt more power thrummed through her.

_Kill him! _

The thought flashed through her mind and Buffy blinked at the severity behind the words. She knew it wasn't her mind or her anger that produced that thought. It was something else entirely. Something that was evil and powerful. Something that was slowly grabbing hold of her mind and taking control.

_The Knight has awoken. Kill him!_

Unable to control what happened next, she watched as her hands rose up once more and shot two powerful blast at the vampire. Angel managed to dodge one of the blast but the second one caught him, reeling him back into the wall. The wall quaked upon impact and a huge portion broke, falling right on top of the fallen vampire.

Buffy smiled in satisfaction. _Good. We must eliminate all the powerful ones here so they won't stop us from destroying the world. Now go for the witch._

Buffy scanned the warehouse for Willow and finally spotted her at the door fending of one of the Gyehus. Buffy stalked towards the witch, a energy ball already in the palm of her hand. She flung the bright, white ball at the Gyehu, disintegrating it instantly. Willow turned to her, relief masking her face.

WILLOW: Buffy, I'm so glad...Oh!

The witch ducked as Buffy flung a blast of powerful energy in her direction. She conjured up another one and threw it at her again. But this time the blast bounced off a green protective force shield that Willow managed to put up.

WILLOW: Angel! A little help here!

Angel grunted as he pushed the broken wall of his bruised and battered body. His ears were still ringing from the earlier blow. He stifled a groan as he got to his feet and took a moment to survey his surroundings. The floor of the warehouse was scattered with dead Gyehus. Spike, Giles and Anya were fighting the last remaining Gyehus while Xander stayed with an unconscious Pike at one corner. Willow was busy shielding herself from Buffy. A worn out Giles jogged towards him.

GILES: Angel.

ANGEL: Man, that Slayer is really kicking my ass.

GILES: Yes, well, with slayer powers plus the Ruler's power? I'm not surprise. But you have the Knight's powers now. Use it and you'll be fine.

ANGEL: So what now?

GILES: Keep Buffy in the warehouse, don't let her leave. There's something Willow and I need to do.

ANGEL: Ok. Anything else?

GILES: Don't let her near us. We can't be interrupted.

ANGEL: How long do you need?

GILES: A few minutes.

_A few minutes are all Buffy needs to kill me. _Angel nodded.

ANGEL: Gotcha.

WILLOW: Angel!

GILES: Go.

ANGEL: I'm gone.

With the aid of vampire speed and the Knights powers, he ran towards Buffy and Willow, the Knight's powers ready to explode from his hands when commanded. He willed a fireball towards Buffy and the blast knocked the Slayer off her feet.

ANGEL: (to willow) Get to Giles and do whatever you need to do!

Willow dropped her shield and wasted no time heading towards Giles. Angel focused his attention back to Buffy, who was already on her feet, scowling at him. A ball of energy bounced on her right palm, spinning and ready to be used.

BUFFY: Out of the way, Angel.

ANGEL: Love to but you've been using your powers and I haven't and I really want to see what I can do.

BUFFY: You want to use your powers? Fine. Do it then.

ANGEL: Happy to oblige.

Angel didn't know how but he knew all about the power within him. He knew what kind of powers he had, how to use it and what those powers were capable of. It was like he had these powers all his life.

A similar ball of energy flew from Angel's palm and headed straight for Buffy. With a flick of her free hand, the ball of energy changed direction at the last possible moment and hit the wall beside her instead. Buffy laughed at the miss. Taking this moment of distraction, Angel conjured up a sword of flames and ran head long towards Buffy.

Buffy's eyes widen in surprise but didn't manage to defend herself when Angel's sword of flames swung at her. All Buffy could do was to take the swipe of the sword with her back as she turned away to protect herself from the deadly blow. The fiery blade burned her back, causing her to hiss in pain. Almost immediately, the wound started to heal and a moment later, it was gone, the burnt flesh replaced by a healthy one.

Angel cursed under his breath. _Nobody told me she got healing powers._ He swung at her again but this time she was more prepared, ducking out of the way and blasting another energy ball at him. He used the sword to deflect the energy ball but the blast still managed to make him reel. _Come on, come on, _he silently pleaded to Willow and Giles. They sure were taking a long time with whatever they are doing.

Then it happened.

Dizziness took over Buffy, disorientating her for a moment. She shook her head, shoving the dizziness away and tried to focus on Angel. The warehouse was still spinning a little and Buffy took a step forward to steady herself. As soon as it came, the dizziness disappeared. She looked and blinked when she didn't see Angel before her. She whirled around and saw that she was the only one in the warehouse – only one _alive_ in the warehouse. Giles and Willow were on the floor, bleeding while Xander was slumped against the wall with his head hanging unnaturally to his side. Pike's decapitated body lay beside. Anya, she noticed, was on her back, gasping for air. Her chest was ripped open, organs spilling out onto the floor. Spike was no where to be seen and she guessed he was, just like Angel, dust.

Buffy headed slowly towards the door, excitement building up in her. _It has happened! _She pushed the door open and stepped outside into the early hours of the morning. Buffy's eyes raked the surroundings in front of her and she couldn't believe her eyes. All those times of hard work, all those time of tolling, had finally paid off.

Buildings were ablaze, darkening the lightening sky with smoke. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere with demons devouring the remains. She could feel the pain and the anger coming to her in waves from all direction, making the powers inside her to grow even stronger. She could feel it in her bones that this scene was played out everywhere around the world. Buffy blinked a couple of times, not trusting her eyes at what she saw. It seemed so surreal.

Finally, the world was in her master's control.

_It has happened! I'm human!_

__

Angel watched as an expression of awe spread across Buffy's face. The Slayer spun around slowly, her eyes wandering the warehouse with disbelief.

Giles and Willow came up beside him while Xander, Spike and Anya hovered around nearby. The last of the Gyehus were dead, the floor of the warehouse was littered with their dead bodies and now all of their attentions were directed towards Buffy.

GILES: (quietly) The illusion is up. The Ruler should be making its appearance sometime soon.

ANGEL: She has healing powers. I don't think I can draw her blood.

GILES: T-the healing powers are just there to protect her. It will be gone once the Ruler is in human form.

Angel turned back to Buffy, who was looking at him intently. Angel didn't dare move, not sure whether moving would break the illusion Willow and Giles put her under.

ANGEL: (whispers) You sure she can't see me?

GILES: Yes, I'm sure.

Buffy took a step forward, a wide smile forming on her lips. She raised up her hands and lifted her head towards the ceiling.

BUFFY: The time has come, O Ruler of Chaos, for you to walk upon this land. With me as your vessel, live!

The ceiling above her started to darken and swirl. Lightening flashed and thunder boomed inside the warehouse.

XANDER: Is this part of the script?

GILES: No. No, this is just the Ruler making its presence known.

A bolt of lightening struck the ground in front of them, throwing them off balance. Buffy started to chant in a language Angel that didn't understand and the whirl of the ceiling above her grew wider and wider, nearly consuming the whole warehouse.

ANGEL: You better get everybody out of here before things get worse.

SPIKE: It's a bit too late for that, mate.

The ceiling started to change to a blood red color. Buffy eyes also glowed the same color and a moment later, a huge pillar of bright red light emerged from the ceiling and entered Buffy. Buffy screamed in response and her scream was cut off by a low laugh that rang throughout the warehouse. The laughed came from all around the room, shaking the walls and the ground beneath Angel and the rest.

Then the transformation began.

Tribal markings, like the one Pike had painted on his face, rose from Buffy's skin, covering her from head to toe. Her blue eyes gleamed red and two massive, jet black wings unfurled from her back.

XANDER: Oh my goodness.

WILLOW: So say all of us.

GILES: Willow, drop the illusion.

WILLOW: On it.

She closed her eyes, murmured a few words and Angel felt the same rushed he felt before when Willow put up the illusion. He eyed Buffy and waited till she – the Ruler – figured out the trick before making his move. Confusion appearing on the Ruler's face was all Angel needed.

He conjured up his new favorite weapon – the sword of flames – and rushed her, vamping out in the process. The Ruler got over its confusion fast enough to move out of his swing. Supernatural electricity shot out from its hands, catching Angel in the shoulder and knocking him back.

RULER: You tricked me! How dare you?!

ANGEL: Happy April's Fool Day in advance.

Another swing from his sword and the flaming blade swiped at the Ruler's arm, drawing crimson blood. The Ruler snarled in pain before launching another attack on him. Angel leaped as high as his vampire strength and the Knight's powers could take him, somersaulted in the air and landed behind the Ruler.

The Ruler's cries of outrage filled the room and it whirled around.

RULER: You cannot defeat me, Knight!

ANGEL: I just did.

With that, Angel plunged the fiery sword deep into the Ruler's abdomen. The Ruler roared in pain and in anguish. Angel yanked out the sword and willed it away. The Ruler doubled over and collapsed on the fall, writhing in agony.

RULER: You cannot kill me.

Angel knelt down beside the Ruler without replying. He knew it would be soon before the Ruler could regain its strength and start the fight again so he had very little to do this. The front of Buffy's shirt was burnt away, revealing the torn flesh where blood seeped out. Angel brought forth his human visage. He pushed back the guilt he felt for causing harm to Buffy and tried his hardest to focus.

_Ok, tears, don't fail me now._ Angel squeezed his eyes shut and raked his brain for all the memories he buried deep within himself. Memories of him when he was Angelus, killing and terrorizing people, memories of the time when he lost his soul to Buffy and how he tortured her and her friends, and even memories of Doyle's death. He let all the guilt, which weighed down on him, to rush up to the surface, feeling each and every one of them.

Then the tears started to spill.

The Ruler stirred on the ground but he didn't notice. Tears rolled down his cheeks and fell off from his chin; dropping onto the Ruler's wound below. Angel's eyes flew open as Buffy's cried out in pain. The Slayer started to convulse and the wound began to spill more blood, creating a puddle around her.

Angel began to panic. He reached out touched her marred face but drew back when her skin burnt his fingers. _Damn it! She's going to bleed to death._ Someone grabbed his arm and started to drag him away. He pulled away from the grip and glared at Spike.

ANGEL: What are you doing?

SPIKE: We have to leave. The building's coming down around us.

ANGEL: What about Buffy?

SPIKE: Get her out then!

ANGEL: I can't touch her, damn it!

Conflict danced in Spike's blue eyes as it flicked to the moaning Slayer and then to the trembling walls around them.

ANGEL: I'm staying with her. Take the others out.

SPIKE: What? I'm not going to leave you here. It's too dangerous for the both –

A loud explosion ripped through the warehouse, rocking the two vampires of their feet. Angel glanced over his shoulder and saw a strange misty, spidery thing coming out from Buffy's body. He could make out a rough detail of a face, its mouth open in a silent screaming and Angel deducted that it was the Ruler's spirit coming out from Buffy's body.

RULER: No! You cannot defeat me!

Angel shielded his eyes with his bare arm an explosion of light blew up right in front of his face and everything went still.

SPIKE: Is it over? Did we kill it?

Angel stood shakily to his feet and looked around. The others were huddled together not far off and they too was getting slowly to their feet.

XANDER: Is Buffy alright?

The Slayer was lying still on the ground. The tattoos on her body were gone and so was the wound that Angel inflicted on her. Angel knelt down beside her and checked her pulse. He sigh a sign of relief when he felt a strong heartbeat.

ANGEL: She's ok.

GILES: Let's get her home.

**NEXT DAY  
morning**

Buffy woke up to a strange tingling sensation at her abdomen. She blinked until the room swam into focus and grinned when she realized that she had retained her sight. She turned when the side of the bed sank a little as someone sat beside her. Angel leaned over and kissed her forehead.

ANGEL: You're awake.

BUFFY: And you're still here.

ANGEL: I didn't want to leave until I know you where ok. (pause) You _are _ok right?

Buffy nodded.

BUFFY: And I feel strangely healed.

ANGEL: The Ruler's healing powers is responsible for that.

BUFFY: The Ruler? Did we –?

ANGEL: We did. He's not going to show his spirit or his chaos anytime soon or ever.

BUFFY: And Pike?

ANGEL: He's doing ok. He couldn't remember much but he does remember enough to know that's he's responsible.

BUFFY: Where is he?

Buffy found Pike in the guest bedroom, looking out of the window. He was fully dressed with his helmet to his bike tucked under his arm. She knocked on the open door, announcing her arrival and stepped in. Pike turned around and produced a small smile.

BUFFY: Hey.

PIKE: Hey back.

BUFFY: You feeling ok?

PIKE: No. But I'll deal.

The two of them moved towards the bed and sat down side by side. They seated in silence for a moment before Buffy gestured to his helmet.

BUFFY: So when are you leaving?

PIKE: Soon. In a few minutes.

BUFFY: Where are you going?

Pike shrugged.

PIKE: I don't know. I'm thinking the monastery. I heard the people there don't create much trouble.

BUFFY: Well, unless they are evil monks.

PIKE: I'll chose a monastery without evil monks.

The two of them fell silent as they stared down at the carpet.

BUFFY: You going to be ok?

PIKE: Maybe. I'm still trying to come to terms that I tried to kill you and your friends and also tried to end the world. I mean, one minute I was dabbling in the black arts and the next I had someone in my head asking me to do things I never thought I would do. It scares me. (pause) I scare myself.

BUFFY: It'll get better.

PIKE: I hope so.

Buffy took his hand and twined her fingers with his.

BUFFY: You can stay here, you know. You don't have to go so soon.

PIKE: No, I can't stay. There are too many things that remind me of what I did. And you are here. In case you didn't notice, I'm still not quite over you yet.

Buffy chuckled.

BUFFY: I understand.

PIKE: Hey, I'll send you a postcard and with a photograph of me and my monk friends.

Buffy looked at him and smiled.

BUFFY: You do that.

**NIGHT**

The house was silent as most of its occupants were out. Giles and Willow was at his shop doing damage control while Dawn was at her friend's – still angry that she was include in their big fight last night. Xander and Anya were back at his apartment doing what most happily engaged couple would do and Spike was out – though he didn't say where he was going. The only people left in the house were Buffy and Angel.

The two of them sat on the patio steps, staring into the silent night stretched out before them. Angel had his arm around Buffy while she leaned against him.

ANGEL: I should be getting back.

BUFFY (sighs) I know.

The two of them didn't move.

ANGEL: I _really_ should be getting back.

He shifted and took his arm away from her shoulder.

BUFFY: I guess you should.

ANGEL: I'll call you.

Buffy nodded as the two of them stood up. Angel reached out and pulled her into his embrace. Buffy placed her head against his should and held on tight.

BUFFY: It's good to see you again.

They pulled away.

BUFFY: I mean reallygood

ANGEL: Well, I'm glad you can see me too.

He lowered his head and captured his lips with his, sending shots of electricity through her body from head to toe. He pulled away and stared into her eyes.

ANGEL: I'll see you soon.

Buffy nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and she knew if she said something now she would start bawling. She was really going to miss him. They entangled from each other and Angel made his way to his waiting car. He gave her one last look before climbing in and taking off. Buffy headed back to the patio steps and sat down, not wanting to be in the house alone.

Buffy was so lost in thought that she didn't hear footsteps approaching her house. She looked up and saw Spike sauntering towards her direction. A stick of cigarette dangled from his lips. His face was looking better now, only a few cuts and bruises left and Buffy was glad.

Spike plucked the cigarette out from his mouth, dropped it onto the grass and ground it out with his boot. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his jeans and cocked his head at her.

SPIKE: What are you doing out here, love? Isn't it a bit chilly out?

BUFFY: I was just thinking. I sent Angel home earlier.

SPIKE: Is that right? The poof is finally gone, eh?

BUFFY: Yeah.

The two of them stared at each other uncomfortably before Buffy spoke.

BUFFY: So what are _you_ doing here?

SPIKE: Oh, I thought I came by and kiss the bloke goodbye but I guess I missed him.

BUFFY: Right.

Another uncomfortable silence descended upon them. Spike pulled his hands out from his pocket and crossed them across his chest, puffing out a little.

SPIKE: So.

BUFFY: So.

SPIKE: I should be going then – get some sleep. You should do the same.

BUFFY: I will.

SPIKE: Good. I'll see you tomorrow for patrol then.

Spike turned and started to make his leave. Buffy stood up and stopped him from going any further.

BUFFY: Wait!

Spike stopped and faced her, a scarred eyebrow raised.

SPIKE: Pet?

BUFFY: I just wanted to say...that...I'm...I'm sorry.

SPIKE: What about?

BUFFY: For hitting you. I didn't mean it.

SPIKE: 'S ok. No big deal.

But Buffy ignored him. Now that she was finally able to start her apology, she didn't want him to stop her.

BUFFY: It's my fault that I hit you and all those things I said? I didn't mean it.

SPIKE: You didn't?

BUFFY: I...

SPIKE: Buffy, you don't have to lie to me. I now what I did to you, how I made you feel so I know you meant all those things you said to me.

BUFFY: It just didn't come out right.

SPIKE: (scoffs) Right. So how do you make it come out right? Tell me how disgusted I make you feel over tea and scones?

BUFFY: I'm...

SPIKE: Look, just forget it ok? No use dwelling on the bloody past.

Buffy's eyes prodded his as she took a step closer.

BUFFY: So are we good?

Spike inched closer to her.

SPIKE: (smirks) When were we ever good? But that's the point isn't it? You hate me, I hate you and then there's lots and lots of angry sex.

Another step forward and Buffy found herself inches away from the blond vampire.

SPIKE: (whispers) But I'm not complaining. Are you?

Buffy raked her brain for an answer but nothing came to mind.

BUFFY: I...

SPIKE: No wait. Don't answer that.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her. Buffy closed her eyes and savored his cold, moist lips on hers. He pulled back a little and touched his thumb to her lower lip.

SPIKE: The thing is, now that you know how I make you feel, would you still come back for more?

Spike traced the outline of her jaw, leaving behind trails of fire.

SPIKE: That's the only answer I want. Would you come back for more?

His fingers left her face and when Buffy opened her eyes, Spike was gone. Buffy sighed and hugged herself. She turned and made her way back to the house. Once inside, she closed the front door behind her and leaned against it. She closed her eyes, Spike question still ringing through her mind.

So would she? Would she still go back for more? Would she go to his crypt night after night just to feel one moment of happiness and then feel hatred and revulsion towards herself in the morning? Would she let Spike do all those things to her just so she could feel haunted?

With tears running down her face, Buffy made her way towards her room, her heart feeling heavy, her answer echoing loudly in her mind.

_Yes, I would. _

END


End file.
